Redi Tlhabi interviews Banda & Ramphele on South 2 North

This Friday on Al Jazeera's new global talk show South 2 North, Redi Tlhabi interviews two remarkable African leaders: Joyce Banda, Malawi's first female president, and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, founder of Agang, South Africa's new party political platform.

President Banda became only the second woman to lead an African country in April 2012, following the example of Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Time Magazine recently named Banda one of the most influential people in the world, while Forbes called her the most powerful woman in Africa in 2012.

Ramphele, a former vice-chancellor at The University of Cape Town and past managing director of The World Bank, was a co-founder of the Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko. In February 2013, she launched Agang, a new party political platform intended to challenge The African National Congress in South Africa.

What gender-related challenges have Banda and Ramphele had to overcome? Are there more opportunities for women in the political arena in Africa today? Do women do politics differently? Is there space developing for opposition politics in Africa?

Watch Redi ask the important questions on this week's episode of South 2 North, which premieres at 19:30 GMT on Friday, 17 May 2013 and also screens Saturday at 14h30, Sunday 04h30 and Monday 08h30.

For more information, visit http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/south2north/, where all episodes are available to watch online.

You can also tweet your questions, comments and opinions to @AJSouth2North or find South 2 North on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/South-2-North/255419671252120.

Catch up on last week's episode of South 2 North, where Redi discussed re-imagining Africa, at