Winnie Mandela is probably the most controversial politician to emerge from South Africa’s liberation struggle, adored by her supporters, who call her the ‘Mother of the Nation’, reviled as a violent and corrupt criminal by others. She was born on the 26 September 1936, in Mbongweni village, Bizana, in the Pondo district of the East Cape and belongs to the Xhosa people. She was the fourth of eight children. Her mother, who died when she was eight, taught Domestic Science. Her father worked for the Forestry and Agriculture Dept.
Winnie studied social work at the Jan Hofmeyer School in Johannesburg and gained a degree in International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand. She had several different jobs in her home area of the Transkei and became South Africa’s first black social worker, based at the Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg.
In 1957, she met Nelson Mandela, marrying him the following year. They had two daughters, Zenani and Zindzi. They officially remained married until 1996, although they actually separated in 1992. Their tiny Johannesburg home in Soweto is now a museum.
With Nelson Mandela imprisoned, Winnie took centre stage. A passionate and charismatic speaker, she campaigned tirelessly and often outspokenly, allying herself with the hardline views of the Black Consciousness Movement. Banned and confined to Soweto, she was arrested on several occasions, even spending 17 months in solitary confinement in Pretoria Central Prison. Her children were sent to boarding school in Swaziland. After her involvement in the 1976 Soweto Uprisings, she was exiled for years to Brandfort in the Free State. With Nelson emerging as an international figurehead for the political prisoners, the ANC made a conscious decision not only to bolster his image but that of his wife, highlighting the persecution she was suffering at the hands of the authorities. In 1986, she decided to move back to Soweto and confront matters head on, becoming an international celebrity as she outspokenly espoused the cause and raised her husband to superstar status.
In 1991, Winnie was elected to the National Executive of the ANC, resigning all political posts after her conviction. In 1993, however, she was elected President of the ANC Women’s League, a post she held for 10 years.
In 2009, she was returned to Parliament and remains an MP today. She has never remarried.
Interesting to see this pop up on tumblr after my Nelson Mandela post. From what I have heard, the Rastafari bredrin and sistren in South Africa give Winnie nuff respect.
(via tribalimmunity)
