Geraldine Fraser is born

Geraldine Fraser was born on 24 August 1960, in Lansdowne, Cape Town, the daughter of a teacher and factory worker. She became politically active at Livingstone High School where she was elected to the Student Representative Council. A year after she enrolled for a Teachers Diploma at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), she left South Africa to join the African National Congress (ANC)  in exile, where she worked under Joe Gqabi, Chief Representative of the ANC in Zimbabwe. As a member of the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), Fraser-Moleketi (her husband's surname) received her military training in Angola, the former USSR and Cuba. She also became a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and served in the regional leadership of the SACP, based in Zimbabwe. Upon her return to South Africa, Fraser- Moleketi worked as a personal assistant to Joe Slovo and Chris Hani. She has since held the post of Minister for Welfare and Population Development until 1999, as well as Minister of Public Service and Administration until 2008. Fraser- Moleketi currently serves as a member of the Central Committee and Politbureau of the SACP. August is regarded as women's month in South Africa, where the contribution made by woman such as Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi in the struggle against apartheid is celebrated.