The Impilo Collection Foundation has launched the EmpowerHer: 8 849 Bras for Humanity National Exhibition, an installation built from 8 849 donated bras, each one representing a metre of Mount Everest. The project draws its power from a stark reality: South Africa remains one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a woman, with one in three women facing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, and an estimated 2 700 women killed by GBV every year.
For Angela Yeung, founder of the Impilo Collection Foundation, the idea started with a single request from a young girl: “Please bring me a bra next time.” That simple plea revealed a quiet truth many South Africans overlook. In under-resourced communities, a bra is not a basic item. It is a luxury. For survivors of violence, the absence of one adds to an already heavy burden of shame and invisibility.
Earlier this year, Yeung summited Everest, carrying just one bra as a symbol of dignity and solidarity. She dedicated every metre climbed to a South African woman or girl whose voice has been silenced by violence. That symbolic gesture has since swelled into a national collection effort, culminating in the monumental “Mountain of Bras” sculpture now being unveiled at Constitution Hill.
The venue itself adds weight to the story. Once a site of oppression, Constitution Hill stands today as a beacon of human rights, anchored by the constitutional promise that “everyone has the right to be free from all forms of violence.” The exhibition attempts to make that promise tangible through art, storytelling and public participation.
Visitors will encounter the towering sculpture, interactive pledge walls, and a panel discussion exploring dignity, gender, and healing through activism and art. After its Johannesburg run, the exhibition will travel across all nine provinces in 2026 under the theme “Carriers of Courage,” with each stop ending in the distribution of bras and dignity packs to local communities.
Yeung says the project is the fulfilment of a promise made at the top of the world: “Standing on the summit, I wanted each metre climbed to carry a voice. This exhibition is that promise kept. Change begins when we rise together.”
The Impilo Collection Foundation is calling for support to help take the exhibition nationwide. Donations will contribute to the cleaning and preparation of the bras, while partners are being sought for transport, logistics, accommodation and meals for the travelling team.
The exhibition opens on 26 November 2025 at Constitution Hill and runs until 10 December, aligning with the 16 Days of Activism. Public viewing is open daily from 9AM to 6PM.
The Foundation, which has already touched more than 100 000 lives through its #EmpowerHer, #EmpowerHim and #EmpowerThem campaigns, hopes this installation will become a national symbol of dignity, activism and collective will.
