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The legacy of South Africa’s revolutionary women
ANGUS REID speaks to historian Siphokazi Magadla about the women who fought apartheid and their impact on South African society
ROLE MODEL FOR BLACK WOMEN: Ruth Mompati in the Soviet Union in 1962 [Ngaba and Mompati families/Ruth Mompati Memorial Foundation/Courtesy of Siphokazi Magadla]

Siphokazi Magadla (Pic: Courtesy of Siphokazi Magadla)

SIPHOKAZI MAGADLA is crystal clear about the  relevance of her historical work to contemporary South Africa and the wider world:

“The erasure of women’s contributions to the history of the anti-apartheid struggle is connected to the dismissal of women’s roles in the new democratic state. If women didn’t matter in how we got to be liberated, then why would their roles matter now?”

Twin sisters in the armed struggle: Major General Ntsiki Memela-Motumi and Busiswe ‘Totsie’ Memela (Pic: Courtesy of Siphokazi Magadla)
Thenjiwe Mtintso in Uganda in 1991 where she served as the ANC’s chief representative and regional MK commander from 1985-1992 (Pic: Courtesy of Siphokazi Magadla)
Colonel Belinda Martin with then South African first Lady Zanele Mbeki (pic: South African Soldier Magazine/Courtesy of Siphokazi Magadla)
Naledi Pandor chairs the Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, September 22 2022 (Pic: 15th BRICS summit/CC)
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