1. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela is is of high word in the country of South Africa and she remain the greatest women activist in the history of this country. Mama Winnie was married to Dr. Nelson Mandela and 3 months after their marriage Tata was arrested and jailed for life, leaving Winnie to raise their young family and carry on her anti-apartheid work alone. Imprisoned numerous times by the apartheid police, banned, isolated and eventually tried for treason, Winnie remained steadfast in her commitment to South Africa’s liberation and the advancement of women’s rights.
2. Lillian Ngoyi
Born on September 25, 1911, Lillian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi was the first woman ever to be elected to the ANC's executive. A powerful orator whose fiery speeches served as an inspiration to her comrades in the anti-apartheid movement, Lillian worked as a seamstress after abandoning her nursing studies. In 1956 she was detained in solitary confinement for 71 days, and on her release was subjected to an 11-year ban that severely restricted her movements. Lillian died on March 13, 1980.
3. Albertina Sisulu
From being the wife of one of the greatest ANC deputy presidencies, Walter Sisulu to being known as "Mother of the Nation". Mama Albertina was arrested a multiple times during the apartheid but still she stood tall and she even became the first women to be arrested under the General Laws Amendment Act which gave the police the power to hold suspects in detention for 90 days without charging them. Ma Albertina was placed in solitary confinement while the cops were still on the lookout of her husband, who was later imprisoned to life in Robben Island. She was also linked with many jailed members of the ANC and those in exile. In 1994 Ma Albertina Sisulu served in the first democratically elected Parliament, in her lifetime she won many prestigious awards with her husband, sadly she lost her life on June. 02, 2011, aged 92.
4. Cheryl Carolus
Ma Carolus will be forever remembered for being a member of the South African Black Students Association and in high school. She embarked on a campaign to replace the conventional prefect system with democratic elections for a Students’ Representatives Council In 1995 Cheryl played an important part in the ANC’s local elections and on 2 March 1998 assumed the post as South Africa’s High Commissioner in London where she forged strong parliamentary, NGO and global business relationships.
5. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Ma Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was appointed as SA’s first female deputy president in June 2005. Along with that historical move she became the first president of the Natal Organization of Women (NOW). She officially became a member of parliament in 1994, and was appointed the deputy president in June 2005, in her role she replaced Jacob Zuma after he was dismissed by then-president Thabo Mbeki on allegations of corruption. Her term ended when Thabo Mbeki was voted out as leader by the ANC at Polokwane in December 2007.
