“Wathinta abafazi wathinta imbokodo.” (You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock)
Channeling the famous rallying cry of the 20 000 brave women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 to fight for freedom, Engen’s Nokuthula Danisa is a shinning inspiration to all.
This Women’s Month, Engen celebrates this powerhouse - affectionately known as Noks - who has broken through the glass ceiling in a predominately male dominant field.
Noks, who grew up in Umlazi and currently lives in Glenwood, has over 10 years of experience working in the petroleum industry.
She joined Engen in 2019 supporting the Crude and Vacuum Units as a Senior Process Engineer at the Engen Refinery.
For Noks Women’s Month is a time of reflection and resetting.
“As an ardent supporter of sisterhood, I wish women of all ages would support and protect each other more,” says the University of KwaZulu-Natal BSc (Chemical Engineering) graduate, who also holds a master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Pretoria.
“We never stop being women, but we can forget our identities, value, and our contribution to society. We are so much more than just our physical attributes. Our identities go so much deeper,” she reflects further.
Like many KZN residents, Noks has faced the unprecedented challenges of the recent floods and social unrest on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite facing all these emotional challenges over the last two years, I truly believe in positive thinking because the battle is first won in the mind, so one needs to be wary of what we feed our minds with.”
As a committed Christian, Noks leans on prayer and enjoys quiet times to reflect and connect with God at the start and the end of each day, which she believes lends her a consciousness to give back to the youth.
“I host monthly sessions at church with teenagers offering them a platform to discuss current issues and voice their ideas for building a better future.
“This is one of the ways I contribute to helping build the next generation and making the world a better place.”
In her down time, Noks is passionate about local and international travel and has visited several countries including, Mozambique, Egypt, Thailand, and Holland, amongst others.
Next on her bucket list is to visitTurkiye and more African countries.
For Engen, Women’s Month is poignant time to acknowledge the talent and determination of extraordinary women such as Noks.
As a company, Engen champions the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 5 – Gender Equality, which aims to end gender inequality through actions that eliminate discrimination that curtail women’s rights in both the private and public spheres.
Engen is keenly aware that equality is everybody’s business, and that it owes it to its employees, customers, and broader society to make every effort to drive positive change.
Engen congratulates Noks for her successful career and salutes all the women of South Africa.