PEARL PILLAY

Age: 26

WHO I AM

An activist and a fierce feminist who believes that marginalised voices can and should be at the forefront of our development as a society.

WHAT I DO

I am a director at Youth Lab, a youth-led policy think tank which aims to mainstream youth participation in policy-making and community development through research, capacity building and dialogue.

JOURNEY SO FAR

I was born in Durban, and went to Depot Road Memorial Primary School and Southlands Secondary School. After Matric, I moved to Johannesburg to study a BA in International Relations and Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. I now have a Masters in Political Studies.

FUTURE PLANS

The next stop is a PhD (after I win the lotto) in Political Studies. Work-wise, I’m working hard to help build Youth Lab into a financially sustainable organisation and want to eventually be able to work on a global scale to advance human rights.

WHAT DRIVES ME

The belief that people matter far more than profits do. Capitalism has robbed the world of a shared sense of humanity and the idea that we don’t need to consume vast amounts of wealth in order to be happy.

WHAT I DRIVE

I drive a striking yellow Kia Picanto. It was the first car I purchased fresh from a dealership, after donating my VW Polo to the car thieves of Joburg.

ON MY AUDIO SYSTEM

I enjoy a bit of everything so you shouldn’t be surprised if you go from alternative rock to 90’s pop to French indie, to rap and hip hop in one sitting. I am a proud member of the BeyHive so you will ALWAYS hear Beyoncé in my car, but I’m also an old person trapped in a young body, so there is a lot of music from the 60’s-80’s in my car (the Beatles, Queen and Led Zeppelin never leave me). Currently, I’m a bit obsessed with the Invasion of Privacy (Cardi B) album right now so expect to see me rapping along loudly in traffic (yes, I sing along to everything — badly, but at very high volumes).

SA ROADS WOULD BE BETTER IF

BMW drivers learned how to use indicators.