Dancing to a Different Rhythm recounts the fascinating life story of Zarina Maharaj, wife of struggle activist and former cabinet minister Mac Maharaj.

Despite many volumes being written about South Africans involved in the struggle for democracy, few are first-hand accounts by the women who stood side by side with their men on the front lines.

Zarina Maharaj was a mathematician in the UK-based international team that researched and patented the concept of the fax machine in the 70’s, having earlier obtained a Master of Science degree in Mathematics. She taught mathematics at the university in post-independent Mozambique, and developed information technology in Zambia.

In post-democratic South Africa she wrote newspaper columns and journal articles on issues of gender and development, and consulted to business on women’s economic empowerment, having obtained a Master of Arts degree in Gender and Development in the early 90’s. She is a long-standing member of the ANC and a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

This book chronicles the experiences of a remarkable woman who was prepared to sacrifice a conventional life and brilliant career in her quest for the freedom of her country, while raising a young family in foreign lands.

Dancing to a Different Rhythm, however, is not only about politics and life in exile but also about an extraordinary love story that transcended severe hardship, long separations and political imprisonment. Illustrated with never-before-seen photographs, this is a gripping and indispensable addition to struggle literature.

Dancing to a Different Rhythm, ISBN: 1-77007-108-3 is published in softcover by Zebra and retails at R139.95.

(A review of this book will be featured shortly.)