September 2020 Marks the 83rd Birthday of the late struggle heroine, Mama Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela Mandela; a Social Worker by profession, lifelong activist, and relentless fighter. As young women, we continue to affirm Mama Winnie as one of the greatest icons of the struggle against apartheid. A fighter who fought valiantly against the apartheid state and sacrificed her life for the freedom of the people of South Africa. Through her activism and resistance to apartheid landed her in jail on numerous occasions, eventually causing her banishment to the small town of Brandfort formally known as Orange Free State, she kept on.

We remember her bravery and her contribution to fighting against the apartheid regime, her undying spirit of resilience, and the timeous war she waged against patriarchy. She challenged the National Party government by returning back to Soweto from Branford, in 1985, defying the banning order which was imposed on her. In her defiance, she took a stand and said, “There is no longer anything I can fear. There is nothing the government has not done to me.

There isn’t any pain I haven’t known.” Although Mama was later forcefully separated from her husband Nelson Mandela by the regime, she kept the memory of her imprisoned husband alive during his years in Robben Island and aided in giving the struggle for justice and liberation of the country its most recognizable faces. She dedicated most of her adult life to the cause and betterment of the people and for this was known far and wide as the Mother of The Nation.

However Mama Winnie’s journey in political spaces was never an easy road, she constantly had to fight twice as hard for her voice not only to be heard but for the voices of many other women in the liberation struggle to be heard. Post-apartheid, the participation of women in community and student politics has significantly grown; for about a decade now, there has been an overwhelming recognition of capacity and capability, particularly of young black women occupying spaces in political movements and governance, though the space remains toxic.

I recall a time I was so ready to leave politics because of the toxic masculinity within the political circle similarly to what Mama Winnie had experienced in her time of activism but her undying love for the liberation movement and equally, of the people kept her going and that is when I realized that I had to fight, not only for myself but for the women of my time and generations to come.

A woman of fortitude she was. Her spirit continues to manifest in the many young women who, from time to time, experience torturous treatments by male counterparts. The journey of Mama Madikizela- Mandela remains a constant reminder as to why we must continue to fight for the total emancipation of women in all spheres of society. Mama continuously sacrificed her own life and put her body on the line to ensure equality, equity, and freedom for the people and particularly paving a way for Female activists and comrades of her time, and generations to come.

For decades, she refused to be known as Nelson Mandela’s Wife, she constantly reminded everyone that she is Zanyiwe Madikizela; a name many tried to unsuccessfully erase in the footprints of history. Recently in honor of her contribution to the liberation of our country and honor of her legacy, there have been ongoing discussions to rename the Cape Town International Airport to Winnie Madikizela Mandela International Airport.

Mama Winnie Mandela was elected President of the African National Congress Women’s League in 1993 and later served as a Member of Parliament 1994 -2003 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture. She is ever engraved in the echelons of our hearts and will be known for generations to come. We say she did not, but rather, she multiplied, as a revolutionary signature for all Women and activists and as a reminder that we must in no way, overlook or question our capabilities especially as young Women in Politics.