In light of the recent Equality Court judgement on hate speech, the importance of hearing women's voices in a society increasingly dominated by male voices shouldn't be downplayed. The timely release of this, the fifth highly successful annual POWA Breaking the Silence collection, goes some way in describing the experiences of women whose lives have defied prescribed boundaries; lives that deliberately, or as a consequence of survival, transgress society's defined norms. Women who defy such norms are often subjected to discrimination, violence and exclusion. Sometimes, as in the case of activists and artists, and just about any woman who resists the prescribed mould of what it means to be a woman, the defiance is intentional. Other times, however, the defiance is a by-product of the often difficult task of survival, or even the quest to be true to oneself. Despite the many judgements, prejudices and multiple violations they face, women continue to work, live and strive to love according to their own design.

The timely release of this, the sixth highly successful annual POWA Breaking the Silence collection, goes some way in describing the experiences of women whose lives have defied prescribed boundaries; lives that deliberately, or as a consequence of survival, transgress society's defined norms. Women who defy such norms are often subjected to discrimination, violence and exclusion. Sometimes, as in the case of activists and artists, and just about any woman who resists the prescribed mould of what it means to be a woman, the defiance is intentional. Other times, however, the defiance is a by-product of the often difficult task of survival, or even the quest to be true to oneself. Despite the many judgements, prejudices and multiple violations they face, women continue to work, live and strive to love according to their own design.