Zulaikha Patel is a South African distinguished human rights activist and advocate, international speaker, and best-selling author. With close to 10 years of public activism. Having started her activism at the age of 13 when she founded the #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh movement against institutionalised racism in 2016 , through this she managed to change racist hair policies at her high school with a petition that gained over 34 000 signatures globally. She at the time managed to not only change the policies but spark global discourse on hair and institutionalised racism. She has published two children’s books , ‘My Coily Crowny Hair’ and ‘Brave Like Me’ which are best-selling books in South Africa. Dare To Change is a non-profit which she founded in 2022 , to focus on the eradication of childhood illiteracy, through this she has worked to provide libraries in rural disenfranchised communities in South Africa impacting over 8000 children.Her work focuses on anti-racism, decolonization, youth empowerment, climate change, economics, and GBV, solidifying her position as a leading voice in the fight for social justice on the global stage. She has won numerous awards globally for her efforts , a couple of which are : BBC 100 Women in 2016 , Young Activists Summit 2022 Laureate , Kofi Annan Changemaker , 100 Most Influential Africans 2019 and the BRICS SCO Young Leader Award.
