Reflecting on Selma: 8 Iconic Women Activists, Past and Present

Reflecting on Selma: 8 Iconic Women Activists, Past and Present


(Image: File)

Winnie Mandela (@WinnieMandela)

Winnie Mandela attended Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg as South Africa was in the midst of apartheid. Among the completion of her studies, she was offered a scholarship to study in America, but instead chose a career in South Africa as the first black medical social worker at Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg.

She eventually met world leader Nelson Mandela and the two married in 1958. After constant arrests resulting from his fight for equality, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. Winnie raised their two daughters alone, and continued the fight against apartheid with the African National Congress.

She too was arrested and spent a year in jail where she was placed in solitary confinement and tortured. After being released, Winnie continued speaking out against apartheid, and was given the name “Mother of the Nation.” She became president of the ANC Women’s League in 1993, and was elected to Parliament in 1994 and 1999. She resigned in 2003.


×