Madikizela-Mandela, who died after a long illness, came to Johannesburg in the early 1950s to study social work at the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work, graduating in 1956. In 1958 she married Nelson Mandela, a young lawyer she had met at a Soweto bus stop.
"All South Africans are indebted to Mama Winnie, whether they acknowledge it or not," said Nelson Mandela Foundation chairperson Professor Njabulo Ndebele.

"From the witness of her life, we knew we could stand tall; we knew also we could falter and stumble. Either condition was an affirmation of life. Her cry was our cry, and in 2018 we can say we did triumph."

While Mandela was sentenced to life behind bars for crimes against the apartheid state in 1964, Madikizela-Mandela continued to campaign against apartheid, and then against poverty and its effects until her death.

"An activist and a leader at the forefront of the struggle for freedom, Mama Madikizela-Mandela did not hesitate to speak her mind, and to sacrifice her personal freedoms and her family, in the quest for the freedom and liberation of South Africans from apartheid ... A political stalwart in her own right, Mama Madikizela-Mandela gave of herself in the fight for gender equity and social justice," the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) said in a statement.

Madikizela-Mandela also earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Wits. The South African flag outside the Wits Great Hall flew at half-mast on 3 April to commemorate Madikizela-Mandela’s passing away.

South African Human Rights Commission deputy chairperson Priscilla Jana, who was lawyer to the Mandelas for many years, said she remembered an incident during the apartheid years when Madikizela-Mandela appeared in court wearing black, green and gold – the colours of the African National Congress (ANC), which was banned at the time.

The prosecutor asked Madikizela-Mandela why she was wearing these colours, to which she retorted "in a strong, determined voice" that of the limited rights she still had in South Africa, one was to a wardrobe of her choice.
"I still see her as one of South Africa’s greatest heroines," Jana said. "During the period when there was a total political lull in this country, in the 1960s, it was Winnie Mandela who was the ANC," she said.

Author Sisonke Msimang told Eyewitness News that Madikizela-Mandela was a tangible symbol of the struggle against apartheid. "She was someone you can touch and feel and hear. I don’t remember her voice growing up as a child; I remember knowing of her, I remember seeing her in pictures in magazines. I remember her as a presence."

Another artist, singer-songwriter Simphiwe Dana, whose song Nokunyamezela honours Madikizela-Mandela, told Eyewitness News how she performed the song a cappella for Madikizela-Mandela in 2017. "From what I was told ... she was highly surprised at the lyrical content of the song ... I really believe she was quite happy with it."

Pumla Gqola, professor of Literature at Wits, said Madikizela-Mandela epitomised courage, integrity and humanity, and was "a revolutionary who always spoke in her own name and for herself. Whether that meant taking on a big, powerful apartheid regime, or whether that meant standing up when she was singled out and victimised precisely for standing up for herself."
Cleric Frank Chikane spoke of Madikizela-Mandela as "a symbol of the pain and suffering that was caused to the people of South Africa by the apartheid system".

Another anti-apartheid activist, Sophie Williams de Bruyn, said Madikizela-Mandela was happy when she last visited her in January. At that meeting they held hands and remembered the struggle days.

"The passing [away] of a dear friend over many decades, Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela, has left me truly sad and bereft of words," said Ms Williams de Bruyn said in a statement.

"I spent some time with her last month when she was once again hospitalised. Mam Winnie was in her element as we reminisced the bygone struggle days, when the guiding principles were loyalty, and service to our people, especially to the downtrodden. She was in high spirits and was speaking passionately; I could feel her spirit touching me and both our emotions knew no bounds.

"In her, we have lost one of the greatest female freedom fighters this continent has ever produced. Her courage, fearlessness, compassion and her selfless commitment to the struggle for freedom gave hope to millions of South Africans, especially during the darkest days of our struggle. These qualities were strengthened through her training as a social worker and they made her very special. Throughout her life she carried her adversity with great dignity and grace. In the words of another brave African woman, Maya Angelou, the quotation below reminds me of Winnie:

"'My mission in life is not only to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style.'"
Williams de Bruyn continued: "These words seem to have been written on how history will remember the beautiful, graceful and charismatic Winnie Madikizela-Mandela."
To Gauteng African National Congress chairperson Paul Mashatile, Madikizela-Mandela was the activist to whom others turned "when things were tough".

Source: Gauteng.net