RIP MaSisulu

Women24 salutes Albertina Sisulu, a mother of our nation.

 Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, also known as a mother of the nation, died quietly at her home in Johannesburg last night, aged at 92.

Born in the Transkei in 1918, Notsikelelo chose her “Christian” name from a list presented to her when she arrived at her mission school, where she was to convert to Catholicism and cement a lifelong trait of disciplined, unwavering support of her community.

Early years
After leaving school in 1939 – and on hearing that nuns do not earn a salary - she moved to Johannesburg as a trainee nurse, intending to make money to send home to her family. It was at Joburg General that Albertina experienced profound racism, resulting in staff violating their sworn duty by leaving untreated, black patients to sleep on the floor while beds lay ready waiting for white patients. She was also deeply affected when the hospital would not let her return to her family home in Xolobe to attend her mother’s funeral in 1941. At first Albertina attended political meetings purely in her role as Walter Sisulu’s partner (she had started dating him in 1941) and was, in fact, the only woman present at the inaugural meeting of the African National Congress’s Youth League in 1944, the year the Sisulus married.
In 1947, when Walter quit his job to join the ANC full-time, Albertina shouldered the responsibility of supporting the family on the meagre wages of a black nurse at the time. She also joined the ANC Women’s League in 1948, beginning her own life-long career as an activist... fiercely organising against Bantu Education and helping to lead the historic 9 August 1956 march to Parliament, protesting the extension of pass laws to women.

 The struggle
After Walter went underground, forfeiting bail whilst on appeal, the security police raided their home and arrested Albertina, keeping her in solitary confinement for two months trying to establish his whereabouts. It was only after she had been released that she discovered that Water had been arrested in Rivonia... resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment on Robben Island.

And so began decades of banning orders, house arrest, children and loved ones in prison and exile. Through it all, Albertina managed to keep her political activities constant, avoiding police informants and sending coded information to the Island, whilst adding on makeshift rooms to her Soweto home to house children of exiles.
After 18 consecutive years of banning orders (the longest any person in SA had been banned) Albertina found herself without a renewed order in 1981, and began speaking regularly, until a renewed order in 1982 and ensuing arrests and imprisonment.
Together
Walter and Albertina were reunited in 1989 on his release, the same year she was part of a UDF delegation to meet George Bush. They both became members of Parliament in 1994 and both retired from politics in 1999.
Our nation, and all South African women, owe a great debt to Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, who embodied the complementary traits of leadership, compassion and non-racialism. Long live the spirit of MaSisulu.

Source http://www.women24.com/