Dr Yvonne Chaka Chaka Mhinga receives an Honorary Doctorate at UKZN Grad. 2012

The Princess of Africa, renowned singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who received an honorary doctorate during UKZN's 2012 Humanities Graduation ceremony, used the platform to champion the empowerment of women. This ceremony happened at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.

A widely respected and loved singer renowned for her humanitarian work in Africa and other parts of the world, Chaka Chaka said: 'We need to continue with dialogue of creating cultural change of turning taboo subjects such as women empowerment into acceptable topics of discussion.

'We also need to begin to take a look at how gender attitudes are affecting our socioeconomic and political environments, because it is just not enough to hear gender problems in the abstract, rather we need to see them face-to-face and stop making assumptions about women.'

Over the years she has championed many causes, using her voice and music to promote the rights of women and children and to campaign for education and literacy.

Losing one of her back-up singers to Malaria prompted Chaka Chaka to form her own charity in 2007, the Princess of Africa Foundation. Its main aim is to improve accountability and transparency in the use of funds dedicated to fighting malaria on the African continent. She is also a goodwill ambassador for the Roll-back Malaria campaign and UNICEF, a trustee of the Tomorrow Trust which focuses on education for orphaned children, and an active supporter of Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign.

Earlier this year she was presented with the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award for artists who use their talents to improve the state of the world. She is the first African woman to receive this prestigious prize.

Of humble origins, Chaka Chaka grew up in Soweto at the height of apartheid. She and her three sisters were raised by her mother, a domestic worker, who became the sole provider when her father died when she was only 11. As a teenager in 1981, she was the first black child to feature on South African television, appearing in a talent show.

Even though Chaka Chaka is a firm believer in education's ability to empower women and bring about gender equality, she said in her address that education alone 'cannot solve women's problems caused by centuries of male domination and economic deprivation and various types of gender biases.' The only way to achieve this was for women to believe in themselves.

'The choice as women is ours, to rid ourselves of self-limiting beliefs and choose positive beliefs that enable us to move forward and take our rightful place in society to realise our dreams.'

Fear - fear of failure, of disappointment, of not living up to one's expectations - prevents many women from achieving their ambitions. She urged all women not to succumb to fear, but to 'embrace a new experience that challenges the beliefs of inadequacy, scarcity and trust, and replace those limiting thoughts.'

According to Chaka Chaka, discovering your full potential, taking time to discover your true purpose in life, and finding your passion are all essential for achieving empowerment. 'From my own personal experience in my career I can testify that if you want to succeed in life, you must first find your passion, harness it and use it to focus on your dreams and vision.'

Chaka Chaka acknowledged that it was not always easy to find your purpose in life - knowing where to start and how to go about it was the real crux.

She believes that it is the role of society to help women 'develop a repertoire of role models; people they respect and admire, people they can look up to'.

Diversity plays a crucial role in education, according to Chaka Chaka. She believes the diversity (including gender) of a student body has a direct impact on the quality of education. Students whose peers have similar attitudes, beliefs, and experiences, she says, don't learn or gain nearly as much as associating with peers who are very different to them.

Chaka Chaka would like to see more women in leadership positions in corporate South Africa and said UKZN could play a role in achieving this. 'This University can contribute by increasing the flow of women into the mainstream of South African life, thereby contributing to a democratic society.'