Remarkable women
SOUTH Africa has lost two remarkable women who passed away this week – both of them legends. On Monday afternoon, Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died in hospital at the age of 82.
A firebrand figure, maWinnie, also affectionately known as the Mother of the Nation, was at the coalface of the Struggle.
As the wife of Nelson Mandela while he was imprisoned on Robben Island, she was subjected to torture and extreme humiliation at the hands of her apartheid captors.
She was often dragged away from her children in the dead of night, beaten, jailed naked in total darkness, humiliated.
She was bruised, but never unbowed. Her courage was matched.
While Mandela his comrades were behind bars, maWinnie was the glue that held together the Struggle on the outside, inspiring other women to rise up against the persecution they were facing as the wives, mothers and daughters of those the apartheid regime branded terrorists.
She spoke her mind, was a paragon of independence, and a shining light in the dark days before the dawn of democracy. At the time of Mandela’s release, she strode alongside him through the gates of then Victor Verster Prison -hand-in-hand, her raised and clenched fist a symbol of her defiant nature.
Another strong, independent woman who died this week was real estate doyen Pam Golding. She was 89. Golding carved out a niche for herself in what was a male-dominated industry.
She ascended up the ranks of estate agents, to set herself and the company she founded apart from the rest. Golding became easily recognisable as one of the most distinguished figures in real estate services. She built an empire. Her company has been linked to the sale of the country’s most luxurious and exquisite homes.
South Africa has lost two icons. Both women dealt with the challenges that confronted them and both of them refused to accept the status quo. Both women also left great legaciesToday’s young women can learn from the tenacity of maWinnie and the entrepreneurial spirit of Pam Golding. They have shown that with belief, willpower and determination nothing is impossible.
Some advice to the young women of South Africa – look no further than these two matriarchs for inspiration.