Shafinaaz Hassim is a South African author, poet and sociologist. Her works include “Daughters are Diamonds: Honour, Shame & Seclusion- A South African Perspective” (2007) and “Memoirs For Kimya” (2009). Shafinaaz completed a Master of Arts in Social Science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and after some work in social science research, she joined the corporate world. Her first book was launched at the Cape Town Book Fair in 2007. She lectured undergrad and postgrad courses in post-structuralist feminism at the University of KZN in Durban, South Africa during 2008 and her second book was launched on Women’s Day at Museum Africa during the Jozi Book Fair 2009. Based on her research, she has presented seminars at Humboldt University in Berlin and she currently lectures the contemporary feminism course at the Department of Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, SA. Shafinaaz is the editor of “Belly of Fire: an anthology” (2011) and awaits the launch of her novel, “SoPhia”. She is also engaged in the research and write-up of the biography of Maulvi IA Cachalia, an ANC activist who spent three decades in exile.
