Vainola Makan is a feminist and gender and social justice activist who has worked in the non-profit sector for more than 25 years. She has a BA from the University of the Western Cape with Sociology and Psychology as major subjects. She is a Research Associate of Transformation of Education for Sustainable Futures. This research was sponsored and coordinated as part of the South African hub of Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures projects based at Rhodes University. The research paper was delivered at the  Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa Conference, hosted by the Mauritius Institute of Education, and published as part of the conference proceedings. She has worked on gender training, participatory action research, women’s empowerment, masculinity work with boys and young men, and the interlinkages of social justice, gender and environmental issues. During COVID-19, she initiated a Women Support Group and worked on a book project entitled Web of Life Disrupted: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women in the Western Cape. She was involved in building several grassroots women’s movements, including New Women’s Movement, and is co-founder of Sisterhood Movement. She is a member of the global network, International Network for Violence against Women, associate of Ubuntu Rural Women’s Movement, and co-founder of the Grassroots Community Gender-Based Violence Alliance.