The women of Winnie Mandela
Winnie Mandela Park on the outskirts of Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, was established in the name of the Mother of the Nation. People arrived there in the early 1990s and implored Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to help them buy the land. She intervened, and today there are about 8 000 people living there, but conditions have remained poor, despite promises by the government for electrification, roads and sanitation. Here, Janet Smith and photographer Itumeleng English meet four women living in the informal settlement to find out what Madikizela-Mandela means to them
“She was asking all the people of Africa to leave it in the hands of South Africa. Even when she was sick, she was here for us. If she passed, we were scared that we wouldn’t get any help any more, so we want her to get better so that she can continue to help us.” “It’s because of Winnie that I have my crèche. It’s because of her that we do have powers, more powers than before. She’s our mother. We are because of her. In the past, people thought ladies were useless people. She changed that.” “She was always a good person and she fought for the people on the ground. She was always fighting, so we had to admire her. She got whatever she wanted through fighting. She was a dangerous somebody. No one can stand in front of her.” “She was one of those women who fought for our rights. This was one of the great things about her. She stood up for women; she made them realise that we had rights, so we knew about her even when we were children.”