Sonja Schlesin | |
|---|---|
 Schlesin is on one side and Henry Polak on the other with Gandhi in centre at his office near what is now Gandhi Square | |
| Born | 6 June 1888 Moscow, Russian Empire |
| Died | 6 January 1956 (aged 67) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Education | University of the Cape of Good Hope |
| Occupation | Personal assistant |
| Employer | Mohandas Gandhi |
Sonja Schlesin (6 June 1888 – 6 January 1956) was a South African best known for her work with Mohandas Gandhi while he was living in South Africa. She began her service as his secretary at the age of 17. By her early twenties, she had become entrusted with the executive decision making within Gandhi's law practice and sociopolitical movements. Gandhi said "during the Satyagraha days ... she led the movement single handed". She was a lifelong friend to Gandhi and would have been a fellow lawyer if she had not been female. She ended her career as a teacher of Latin and made a late attempt to become a lawyer at the age of 65.