Trevor Noah connects Women’s March to feminism in South Africa

Trevor Noah’s greatest advantage as a late-night host and political commentator is his South African background, which often gives him a unique global perspective on important issues. The recent Women’s March, for instance, inspired Noah to educate his audience about the role of women in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

“Because so many of the movement leaders in South Africa were imprisoned or exiled, the movement in South Africa was held together in large part by women in the country. It’s weird for me, when you travel the world you know that everywhere feminism is different, but I grew up in a world that was very matriarchal, and where women were the most dangerous freedom fighters that existed. Nelson Mandela was an icon, but the police in the country were afraid of Winnie Mandela.”

Noah then repeated a common South African saying, originally started at the 1956 Women’s March against apartheid: “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo’,” or, “you strike a woman, you strike a rock.”

Watch the clip above.