Marlene le Roux

Marlene le Roux (born 17 September 1967) is a South African disability and women's rights activist. She is co-founder of the Women's Achievement Network for Disability, and CEO of the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town.

Biography

Marlene le Roux was born in Wellington, Western Cape, 17 September 1967. At three months old, le Roux contracted poliomyelitis which left her with a weakened leg for which she wears a brace. She matriculated at Bergrivier Secondary School then went on to earn a B.Mus. degree in 1988 and a Higher Diploma in Education in 1989 followed by a B.Ed. in 1991, all at the University of the Western Cape. In 2002 and 2003 le Roux continued her education with a Diploma in Management and a Diploma in Senior Management from Stellenbosch University.

Le Roux served as an international expert on the London Olympic Committee and Arts Council England to select arts projects for the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012.

Le Roux and Karen Smit launched the Women's Achievement Network for Disability, in August 2014, "to raise the profile and awareness of disabled women and girls in South Africa, so that their human rights may be advanced and promoted".

Selected works

Featuring stories of 23 women with various disabilities, the photography is by Lucie Pavlovich. Everyday life in Mitchells Plain, a large township on the outskirts of Cape Town. About the minstrel history in the town of Wellington, Western Cape.

Awards and honours

Shoprite/Checkers Woman of the Year – Art Category, 1998 Desmond Tutu Legendary Award, 2001 Chevalier des Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a French Knighthood in the Performing Arts, 2002 Honorary doctorate in education from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017 Commonwealth Point of Light Award, 2018.