Let’s not forget our unsung heroines like Rita Ndzanga

HOW unfortunate it is that we only know about some of our heroes/heroines after they die.

Something must be done otherwise we will look like a nation of hypocrites.

In political circles the word imbokodo is transformed into a concept that symbolises strength. It emanated from a slogan used by the women who marched against the pass laws on August 9, 1956. The slogan was directed at then prime minister, JG Strijdom. “Wathint’Abafazi, Wathint’Imbokodo”, the women chanted.

The reason for this explanation is because mama Rita Ndzanga came into the heat of politics before the 1956 women’s march. It is unfortunate that (like her) there are unknown or less known people who have contributed so much.

In 1955 she worked as the secretary of the Railway Workers Union and was responsible for collecting members’ fees. Her husband was also actively involved in a union, recruiting members and travelling all over the country.

With repression taking its toll, so the Struggle intensified. That meant training and graduation for comrades. Ndzanga and her husband went through a rough and dangerous path which meant inviting more “punishment”, pain inflicted by the heartless Pretoria criminals in charge of the country at the time.

They were both banned in 1964. Together with her husband they were detained on May 12, 1969, under the Terrorism Act. She was severely assaulted by police while in detention. With Winnie Mandela, their detention ended, but in no time they were arrested again. Again, together with her husband and 21 others, she was held for 17 months. She left her children with a younger sister and brother.

After her release from detention in 1970, Ndzanga was banned for another five years. The death of her husband and being denied the right to bury him, was another heavy blow she suffered. But that did not deter her. She, together with the likes of mama Albertina Sisulu, were elected as active patrons of the newly formed Federation of Transvaal Women.

It was formed in 1984 on the 30th anniversary of its mother body, Federation of SA Women. Mama Ndzanga was elected as an MP in the National Assembly in 1999.

Also, it needs to be noted that she, like Madikizela-Mandela, Ruth First, Felicia Kentridge, Albertina Sisulu and Amina Cachalia, did not bask in the glory of her husband. At her funeral it was said that Ndzanga was a strong person. She stood up against all odds, being separated from her family, beaten, and tortured in jail and not even allowed to bury her husband.

She came out of the Struggle as a heroine of the democracy she fought for. As much as there were reports of corruption in the era of one of the presidents she served under, her name was never tarnished.

Her name is part of heroic struggles fought by men and women that ultimately led to democracy. As much as our democracy is not satisfactory, at least there are fundamental freedoms like expression, speech, and association. Together with her husband they leave a big legacy behind. That is a history of sacrifice and pain, with the latter having occurred emotionally/ psychologically and physically.

They could not enjoy the “penny” they were earning in the trade union. It was not blood money, but “peanuts”. Yet today ANC members in power are spitting on that supreme sacrifice of time, suffering, humiliation, and suffering by the likes of Ndzanga and her husband.

Some of them never sacrificed anything; others faked their political credentials. The pain and torture inflicted on her, let alone humiliation, the evil men who did that to her did not break her down. But they were later broken down and are part of the ugly history of our country. She survived until the apartheid system she fought was toppled. Paying tribute to her, former president Thabo Mbeki said: “She was an important architect of South Africa’s liberation.”