‘No roll-call of Ginwala’s life can describe the impact she had,’ says Ramaphosa

Selfless, indomitable, unyielding, persuasive, courageous and a feminist who championed the rights of women and the liberation of her country.

This was how speakers on Tuesday described the late Dr Frene Noshir Ginwala, first speaker of parliament in post-democratic South Africa, who was also credited for accomplishing the tough assignment of clandestinely assisting Oliver Tambo and other ANC leaders to leave the country at the height of apartheid.

Ginwala who served alongside Barbara Masekela and Jessie Duarte as secretariat to former ANC president Nelson Mandela, died on 12 January, aged 90.

Ginwala ‘forged new paths’

Despite Ginwala’s assuming a myriad of roles in exile and in South Africa – including journalist, activist, feminist, author, pan-Africanist, internationalist, academic, barrister and a speaker of parliament – President Cyril Ramaphosa said no roll-call of her many achievements “can adequately describe the person she was, nor the impact she made in her life”.

“It is telling that among her earlier political assignments she was called upon to find ways for ANC leaders to clandestinely leave the country. At a time of great uncertainty and danger, she established routes and identified means of passage where before, there had been none.

“Through ingenuity, courage, determination and diligence, she forged new paths. Throughout her life, she was a pioneer, pathfinder, a leader in the true sense of the word,” said Ramaphosa.

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Ginwala, said the president, was instrumental in setting up the ANC’s first office in exile, “establishing the base from which – over the coming decades – the organisation would forge what was probably the most powerful international solidarity movement of our time”.

“For three decades, she was a vital part of that movement, whether in Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, the United Kingdom or wherever else her assignments took her.

“Through her writing, she provided incisive critique and clear vision. She told us what was wrong with the world and how it could be better.”

Pioneer of women’s rights

Ginwala would be remembered as a pioneer of women’s rights.

“At a time when scant attention was given to the many ways in which women were oppressed and exploited, Frene fought for the struggles of women to be recognised,” Ramaphosa said.

“In a political environment in which the dominance of men didn’t even invite comment, Frene Ginwala was consistent and insistent that women should occupy their rightful place in the struggle. In this, she can be counted as part of a proud lineage of courageous women that have fought for the freedom of all in this country – men and women, black and white.

WATCH LIVE: Dr Frene Ginwala memorial service

“She can be counted among the ranks of those women who burnt their passes in Bloemfontein in 1913, and among the women who marched on the Union Buildings in 1956. She can be counted among the women who joined the ranks of uMkhonto we Sizwe in the aftermath of the 1976 uprising and those who marched on parliament in 2019, to call for an end to the murder of women by men.

“She was among those that won broad acceptance for the idea that no country can be free as long as its women are not free,” said Ramaphosa.

– brians@citizen.co.za