Cyril sings praises of activist Mabele
FUNERAL: CELEBRATION OF ‘LIFE THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE’ After contracting HIV in 1992, at the age of 18, she went public with her status.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa paid a glowing tribute to Aids and gender activist Prudence Mabele, a woman who was despised by her university science teachers and nurses because she was HIV-positive.
Addressing mourners at Mabele’s funeral service at Rhema Bible Church in Randburg, Ramaphosa described her as a “remarkable South African”, a “tireless campaigner” and a “person of great beauty and purpose”.
“As we struggle to come to terms with the deep pain of her passing, we celebrate a life that made such a profound difference in the lives of so many.
“We celebrate the life of a person who, through her activism, her passion, her commitment, her compassion, her defiance, has left an indelible mark on all of us.”
Ramaphosa lik- ened Mabele’s struggle to that of the 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 against the pass laws.
“Prudence was a modern-day iteration of the fearless, steadfast conviction and selfless activism that drove Sophie de Bruyn, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and so many other notable women to the very bastion of the apartheid regime.
“Her fight was not a fight simply for the rights of people living with HIV, but it was a fight to affirm the rights, dignity and well-being of every person who suffered discrimination, oppression, stigmatisation and exploitation.”
Mabele contracted HIV in 1992, at the age of 18, and went public with her status.
She endured stigma at Peninsula Technikon, where she was studying medical technology. She had to change courses because authorities feared that she might infect other students in the laboratory.
Among those who attended the funeral were Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. –
A person of great beauty and purpose.