Sonia Schlesin (1888-1956) was born in Moscow, Russia.  When she was a young child she immigrated with her family to South Africa, as part of a tide of Russian Jewish immigrants.  She was educated in South Africa, and completed her secretarial studies at the University of the Cape of Good Hope (later renamed the University of South Africa).  After graduation, Schlesin was hired by Gandhi at the recommendation of Hermann Kallenbach, who was a friend of the Schlesin family.  Gandhi hired Schlesin to work as a junior secretary at his law firm.

Although Sonia Schlesin started as a legal secretary to Gandhi, she quickly became involved in Gandhi’s socio-political activism.  She helped to write speeches for the protest of the discriminatory Asiatic Registration Act in 1908, and the Great March against racial injustice in 1913.  She also worked closely with Gandhi, Kallenbach, and other residents of Tolstoy Farm to plan the Great March, and helped to coordinate and lead the protest movement while Gandhi, Kallenbach, and others were imprisoned for civil disobedience.

Sonia Schlesin was a part-time resident of Tolstoy Farm, traveling frequently between this community and Gandhi’s legal practice as well as her home in Johannesburg.  After Gandhi and Kallenbach closed Tolstoy Farm in 1914 in preparation to move to India, Schlesin decided to remain in South Africa.  She returned to school for further education, and after receiving B.A. and M.A. degrees, she accepted a position teaching Latin to high school students in Krugersdorp, South Africa, that she held until her retirement.