At the tender age of 13, she joined her first political organisation because she refused to accept her so-called second class status and she craved freedom.
Over the years, she has been at the forefront of the struggle, but she is not bitter about what she went through.
She wants to find solutions to help make South Africa a better place, especially ahead of 2010 when she hopes to be in the stands for as many world cup matches.
She is a strong woman, who is also aware of the importance of fitness in her hectic life.
Last year, along with a group of friends, she summited Kilimanjaro.
She is an extraordinary woman with deep political roots, and is now making huge waves in business.
Introducing our March Woman of the Month; the street smart politician turned savvy businesswoman, Cheryl Carolus!
You started in politics, and you’re now becoming a big name in business, how would you describe yourself?
I’m a frontiers person. I don’t do mediocrity, and I’m definitely not good at maintenance stuff. I am always looking for new things to explore and to learn. I refuse to be placed in a box.
What are your present career activities?
I’m in a very hectic space, starting up business from scratch with three other very clever soul-mates, who share my values and are up for a big vision. We’ve already surfaced and made some waves in the media.
You seldom attend an event without headlining it; tell us about being a high profile woman in a changing SA?
I always say one must take responsibility for one’s victories. One real victory we have in South Africa is there’s a strong awareness of the benefits of involving women in all social spheres.
But we still find that there is a very small pool of us, and there’s a great demand being placed on a small group of people. I think its nonsense, because I think there are far more women we should focus on.
How is it that women have played such a key role in transformation politics?
During the early days of negotiations, we were all in a highly conflicting situation, and 50% of the people in the negotiation process being women.
Women manage conflict differently, and women manage differences differently.
And with transformation it is about beginning to manage change without feeling too threatened, and it’s about managing change with respect for other people and their concerns.
I just think our socialisation of women where we listen differently, we find solutions to differences much more readily, is actually a huge plus.
That’s why I do think that women in South Africa today make a huge quality difference in all the processes of change.
What prompted your interest in politics at school?
People often ask me how I got involved in politics, and I say politics got involved with me.
As a poor black girl in a hectic home situation, there’s nothing romantic about polverty, I found myself come up against a system which sought to make me accept that I am a second-class human being.
The only way I could retain my sense of dignity and self, which I was very strong about, was to fight back against the system, to push back every time they tried to make me accept my second-class citizenship.
And so I became a political activist, (and) at the age of 13 I joined my first political organisation.
What’s your most vivid political recollection?
It must have been the early days of the implementation of beach apartheid, and the whole plethora of petty apartheid laws.
My parents always had this sense of, you always tried to aim a little bit higher than where you are. One of things was we would never just go to the local beach where everyone went.
We went to a beach and I remember two men in grey suits called my father aside and my father came back to us and said we have to pack up and go.
It’s a long time to save up for everybody to get the beach, and so of course we didn’t want to go, and he became really aggressive with us, my dad.
I later realised what apartheid did to families, and to black men.
Because here was my father being asked by these policemen to in fact police the oppression of his own family.
What a horrible thing that must have been for him, when the social stereotypes say you have to be the protector of your family.
There was nothing he could do to protect us against this, so he had to become the policeman, because he knew they would arrest us if we didn’t leave.
How did you enjoy your time as South Africa’s High Commissioner to London?
I really enjoyed it. It was such a privilege, and such a great time in the history of our country and the UK, and it was such a privilege to represent what our country is, and to sell it.
It was quite an easy sell, but into a lot of ignorance. And I really felt really privileged to be chosen to do that, and I know it sounds a bit corny, but I did.
And London is a great city, with a great number of friends of South Africa who just bent over backwards to ease my entry and my country’s entry.
All number of people were looking for opportunities in London, so it was great to be swimming in the sea of great warmth and welcome.
When you were in London, what is the best thing that foreigners said about South Africa?
Foreigners just love how warm South Africans are, and the kind of welcome that people across the colour, across the class divide, offered. It really gave me a big thrill!
We know how the country loves Madiba and the Arch, who are your women role models?
She is a strong woman, and she was a strong partner in the marriage, and she still managed to keep all her softness and all the stuff that makes mothers so important in our lives.
She was a career woman. She is till today widely respected as one of the best examples of nursing.
I just think she is just such an outstanding example of what we as women can do when we find balance. I always feel I fall hopelessly short of her … (laughs).
What do you think of gsport?
I think it’s long overdue. I think that strong confident women are so critical for a healthy society.
Part of that is also stuff like being body-wise, and the physicality of sport and celebrating that is such an important part in women’s sense of themselves.
Body-wise stuff is also important in terms of HIV-Aids, and how you see yourself.
But more importantly, sport for women is such a Cinderella part of sport in terms of sponsorship and in terms of the coverage it gets, and I just love the site and I’m a great fan!
You looked stunning at the Arch’s 75th Birthday celebrations, how do you keep so fit?
I jog, and I also spend as much time hiking and being outdoors. In fact, last year on the 9th of August, myself and a group of women summited Kilamanjaro on National Women’s Day.
I think it is important that one maintains fitness particularly in the kind of stressful environment we live in. And I do think you should lool after your body, you’ve got one body.
What is your favourite sport?
Soccer without a doubt. I’m a Pirates fan!
Favourite sports star?
Viv Richards (West Indian cricket legend), apart from having been a great sportsman, he represents what sports people can mean in their communities and he lives up to it.
And then I really love Portia Modise and Penny Heyns. I think they are two spunky women. They push boundaries and they are not shy to be women, which I also think is important.
Who is going to win the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies?
(Laughs) South Africa should be able to win. But, I think it’s a common South African thing that makes us fail so often. We just lack confidence, unlike those Australians.
I just wish we would become more confident. But I guess that’s what international exposure brings.
What are your plans for 2010?
The plan is to be at as many matches as possible. But I have a pre-plan. The first and biggest plan at the moment is to get a vast number of prayers from as many quarters as possible to help our football team get their act together.
I think its disgraceful that we’re only going to be there because we’re the host country. Then I am getting my full kit and I’m honing my vuvuzela skills because I’m planning to be here for the long haul.
gsport’s theme for this month is Endurance. What role has it played in your life?
I live by simple values and principles. For me its quite simply, you work hard and you keep working at it. You work hard at the things you really want to get.
And freedom was a big thing for me, but I apply that in the smaller goals in my life. I knuckle down and just work hard for what I want. With freedom, it was about just giving everything in the struggle.
I didn’t believe we’d be free in our lifetime, and here we actually are. I’m aware of the fact that our freedom is not complete, so you just have to keep working at it.
There are no shortcuts. You work for what you want and you determine the quality of what you get by the level of work you put in.
What’s one of the most important things you’ve learnt along the way?
I’ve learnt that you never act out of anger or hatred. I live my life positively. I make my decisions on the basis of finding solutions rather than just fighting the cause.
gsport strives to celebrate femininity. How would you define being feminine?
My sense of femininity is enjoying being a real woman. Real women don’t try to be like men or dolls!
What’s your advice to women who would like to thrive in business and politics?
Take charge of your own future. Define your own values and goals. Stick by them and work for them!
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