Madikizela-Mandela, Winnie

1936–2018 · Contribution: 1950s–2018

Social worker, political activist, politician, anti-apartheid leader

Social worker, anti-apartheid organizer, ANC Women’s League leader and parliamentarian whose resistance to state repression coexists with a contested record of violence and criminal convictions.

Law & Civil Rights

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Quick facts

Born: 1936, Bizana, South Africa
Active since: 1950s–2018
Category: Law & Civil Rights
Best known for: Major figure in South Africa's anti-apartheid struggleContinued political resistance during Nelson Mandela's imprisonmentEndured detention, banning orders and forced internal exileServed as president of the African National Congress Women's LeagueServed in South Africa's ParliamentBecame known to supporters as the “Mother of the Nation”

Impact on the world

During the decades Nelson Mandela and other leaders were imprisoned, banned or exiled, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela became one of the most internationally recognizable faces of resistance inside South Africa. She endured extensive state repression while refusing to withdraw publicly from the struggle against apartheid.

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Sources

Exact source
South African History Online: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
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Impact on the world

What Would the World Look Like Without It?

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