Half a century of "the woman's voice" on the air, a fair number of whom have connections with UCT, has been brought together in a new book put together by the presenters of SAfm's talk show Woman Today.

The book, Woman Today A Celebration: Fifty Years of South African Women, was compiled by SAfm's Hilary Reynolds, a UCT graduate, and Nancy Richards.

It looks at where women in this country have been during this time, where they see themselves now and where they hope to be in another 50 years.

On June 30, 1952, the first edition of a programme especially for women was broadcast on the SABC. Woman's World, later renamed Woman Today, became an institution. By June last year, it had broadcast around 13 000 programmes, spoken to and heard the views and opinions of thousands and thousands of South African women of every colour, age and belief.

Last June, Woman Today broadcast a month-long series of special commemorative programmes. That series is presented in this book as a mini women's history from 1952 - 2002.

It traces the threads which shaped the history of South Africa over a momentous half-century. Telling the story are the voices of some of this country's most prominent women of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Included are Helen Suzman and Patricia de Lille, who respectively wrote the foreword and afterword, UCT Chancellor Graça Machel, and alumnus Evita Bezuidenhout aka Pieter-Dirk Uys, and many more.

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