General Riah Phiyega (ret) reflects on a life shaped by service, family, faith, resilience and the belief that women must see, recognise and affirm one another.
At heart, a woman of service, strength and deep humanity. Guided by integrity, service for others before self, and excellence.
Bashumi!
When invited to introduce herself beyond titles and positions, Ma’am Riah Phiyega begins with this word.
She first heard it as a child, among women in the rural spaces of her upbringing and in the presence of her grandmother. Over time, she came to understand Bashumi as far more than a greeting. It carried an invitation: let us see one another, acknowledge one another and affirm the dignity each woman carries.
In that word lives much of what has shaped Ma’am Riah’s understanding of women, service and sisterhood. It reminds her of hardworking women whose hands were always busy, whose labour was often unseen, and whose strength helped hold families, homes and communities together.
For Ma’am Riah, this is also part of the spirit of IWFSA: women recognising one another beyond titles, biographies and public achievements; women honouring the journeys, burdens and gifts each has carried.
Her story is one of service and strength, pathfinding and tenderness. It is the story of a woman whose journey has moved across many spaces, yet remains anchored in a simple and powerful truth: life becomes meaningful when it makes a difference in the lives of others.
A childhood shaped by family and strong women
Ma’am Riah’s understanding of herself begins with the women who surrounded her.
Through her grandmother, her mother and the women of her childhood, she saw a generation of women who worked extremely hard, often placing themselves last while ensuring that others were fed, cared for and supported. Their resilience, sacrifice and quiet dignity left a lasting imprint on her.
She comes from a family of six girls. There was no boy in the home, but there was also no sense that daughters were less capable or less complete. Her mother, a teacher and later a school principal, became one of her earliest examples of women’s leadership. Through her mother, Ma’am Riah saw discipline, dignity and courage in practice.
From her mother, she learnt that dignity must remain intact, even when others attempt to distract, diminish or define you.
Her father gave her another lifelong gift: confidence.
In a household of daughters, he did not raise his girls to believe that some things belonged to boys and others to girls. They repaired cars, painted, gardened, cooked and baked. He taught them that they were bright, beautiful and able to do what any man could do.
Through him, Ma’am Riah learnt that she was a full human being, capable of stepping into the world with confidence. By the time she began finding her way beyond home, she already carried the belief that she belonged.
Looking back, she says she is happy to have been born a woman. If she had to choose again, she would still choose to be a woman, because women carry special and beautiful qualities.
Pathfinding as a way of leading
Ma’am Riah describes her journey as one of pathfinding.
Some women, she believes, find themselves walking routes they may not have designed for themselves. Yet those routes matter because they show others that it can be done. A pathfinder does not only enter a space for herself. She enters it, turns back and says to those coming after her: there is a path here; come through.
This is how she understands many of the “firsts” in the lives of women leaders. A first is not only a personal achievement. It is also a responsibility. It is a way of opening a door, widening a road and making the impossible visible to a younger woman watching from afar.
For Ma’am Riah, women leaders must be intentional when they enter spaces of influence. If there is a glass ceiling, they must take the rock and break it. Once broken, they must make sure the next woman knows that the way is open.
Her own journey has crossed many institutions and sectors: social work, child welfare, Transnet, ports, banking, governance, public service, women’s development, community safety, church leadership and civil society.
Yet beneath all these chapters is one constant thread: service.
Before the formal leadership roles, there was a little girl who once saw a woman driving a car in her rural village and asked her father who she was. The answer stayed with her: the woman was a social worker. At that young age, Ma’am Riah saw possibility. She saw a woman moving with purpose, doing meaningful work and occupying space in a way that was significant.
Service as her guiding truth
When asked about the truth that carries her, Ma’am Riah returns to service.
Her guiding philosophy is what she calls her I.S.E. philosophy: Integrity, Service for others before self, and Excellence.
Integrity, for Ma’am Riah, is the strongest currency one can carry. It is what steadies a person through both visible and difficult seasons. It is the commitment to truth, fairness and justice in how one lives, leads and relates to others.
Service is the second pillar. For Ma’am Riah, service is not selective. It applies wherever one is placed: in an organisation, in the home, in church, in a boardroom, in community, in IWFSA, in leadership and in ordinary human relationships.
Excellence is the third pillar. It is the discipline of doing the work well, to the best of one’s ability. It is the refusal to be careless with responsibility. It is the belief that whatever one is called to do must be done with commitment, respect and quality.
These values do not sit apart from her personal life. They shape how she sees herself as a woman, mother, wife, sister, mentor, churchwoman, colleague and member of IWFSA.
For Ma’am Riah, being of help to another human being gives her a sense of worth, existence and peace. Making a difference in someone’s life, whether that person is a child, a spouse, a helper, a colleague, a young person or someone in need of encouragement, is what gives her life meaning.
Women, work and the dignity of support
Ma’am Riah’s understanding of leadership is deeply human.
She speaks with tenderness about the women who support the homes and careers of other women: domestic workers, caregivers and helpers. For her, these women must never be invisible. They have homes, children, dreams and responsibilities of their own.
If another woman helps carry your household, she believes you must also ask how her household is being carried. If your children are going to school, you must care whether her children are also going to school. If your children graduate, you must care whether hers are also able to graduate.
It is a powerful reminder that leadership is not only about public influence. It is also about how one treats the people who make one’s own life possible.
IWFSA and the meaning of sisterhood
For Ma’am Riah, IWFSA is not merely a network of accomplished women. It is a space of recognition, sisterhood and intentional support.
It is a platform where women who have carried responsibility across different sectors can see one another more fully.
She sees value in women coming together not only to celebrate achievement, but to understand one another’s journeys. In that sense, IWFSA becomes a place of affirmation. It becomes a space where women can say to one another: I see you. I recognise what you have carried. I honour the road you have walked. And I stand with you as we continue to open the way for others.
For Ma’am Riah, women leaders must brighten the corner where they are. They must lift others. They must build pipelines. They must turn footpaths into highways, so that those who come after them do not have to fight the same lonely battles.
Young people and safer communities
Ma’am Riah’s work with young people is close to her heart.
Through her involvement in community safety and youth awareness, she remains concerned about the future of young people in South Africa. She believes no child is born a criminal, and that society has a responsibility to intervene before young lives are lost to crime, violence or hopelessness.
For her, building a safer South Africa begins long before a young person enters the criminal justice system. It begins with education, awareness, guidance, values and care. It begins with giving young people the knowledge and support they need to make better choices about their lives.
Her work with women remains equally central. Women’s development and empowerment are not side interests in her life; they are part of who she is. Whether through formal institutions, church, mentoring, coaching, counselling or community work, Ma’am Riah continues to pour into others.
She sees this season of life as a “passion and legacy” space: a time to look back at the journey travelled, recognise the footprints left behind, and continue doing work that speaks to one’s deepest purpose.
The woman behind the work
Beyond the work, there is also the personal Ma’am Riah.
She loves quiet time. She loves going to the gym. She loves being alone with her books. She loves church. She loves nature, especially the wilderness.
For her, time in places such as the Kruger National Park or Chobe is not simply a holiday; it is a spiritual retreat. It is where silence, open land and the rhythm of the natural world restore her. In those spaces, there are no demands and no noise. There is only stillness, reflection and renewal.
She gives time to counselling, coaching and supporting young people and young couples. She finds meaning in helping others find steadiness in their own lives. Her joy is not separate from her service; it seems to flow from the same place.
To know Ma’am Riah is therefore to know a woman of strength, but also softness. A woman of conviction, but also care. A woman who has moved through many institutions, but remains rooted in the lessons of home. A woman who believes in women seeing one another, lifting one another and making space for those who come after them.
Currently
Ma’am Riah continues to contribute across women’s development, community safety, leadership, mentoring, coaching and civil society.
Her work includes women’s empowerment, youth awareness, community safety, church-based women’s development, marriage counselling and support for young people and young couples.
What still drives her
- To be of help to another human being.
- To continue opening paths for women and young people.
- To brighten the corner where she is.
- To use the wisdom gathered through life to support, guide and lift others.
- To live with integrity, serve with heart and do the work with excellence.
A life becomes meaningful when it makes a difference in the lives of others.
In Ma’am Riah’s life, service is not a chapter. It is the centre.
And perhaps that is the most beautiful way to understand her: as a woman of strength, faith and deep humanity; a pathfinder who continues to brighten the corner where she is; and Ma’am Riah, whose journey reminds us that leadership is not only measured by the offices one holds, but by the lives one helps to steady, lift and affirm.
