Bertha Gxowa
Bertha Gxowa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1934 Germiston, South Africa |
| Died | November 19, 2010 (aged 75) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | South Africa |
| Citizenship | Germiston |
| Occupation | Women's rights activist |
| Title | Bertha Gxowa |
| Spouse | Cecil Mntukanti Gxowa |
| Children | 5 |
Bertha Gxowa, OLS, (née Mashaba; 26 November 1934 - 19 November 2010) was an anti-apartheid and women's rights activist and trade unionist in South Africa.
Biography
[edit]Gxowa was born in Germiston.[1] She first attended the Thokoza Primary School in that locality before moving on to the Public Secondary School. She was sent to a commercial college, where she completed her shorthand and bookkeeping courses.
Career
[edit]Gxowa started working as an office assistant in the South African Clothing Workers' Union where she took engaged in wage negotiations and gathered factory subscriptions.[1] Gxowa became involved in the African National Congress's (ANC) Youth League and the Women's League at a young age.[2] She first signed up with ANC during the anti-Bantu education campaign.[3]
Achievement
[edit]Gxowa took part in the Defiance Campaign in 1952.[2] Gxowa was one of the founding members of the Federation of South African Women.[3] She also was one of the organizers for the Women's March on the Union Building in 1956 which protested pass laws.[2] Gxowa, along with Helen Joseph, traveled across South Africa to collect signatures on 20,000 petitions which were presented at the march.[3]
She was eventually accused of treason in 1956 in the Treason Trial and remained on trial until 1959.[2] She was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act in 1960.[1]
In 1994, she began to serve in Parliament as an ANC member.[2] She was a member of the Home Affairs and Health Parliamentary Portfolio Committees in Parliament until 2004.[1]
Personal life and death
[edit]Gxowa died in a hospital in Johannesburg on November 19, 2010.[2] A hospital in Gauteng Province is named after her.[4] She had five children and was married to Cecil Mntukanti Gxowa, who had died before her.[1] Her grave site has been dedicated as a provincial heritage site.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "ANC Veteran, Bertha Gxowa, Dies". SA News. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Passing of Bertha Gxowa". Nelson Mandela.org. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "Bertha Gxowa (Mashaba)". South African History Online. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Bertha Gxowa Hospital". Gauteng Province. Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Bertha Gxowa's Grave Site Declared a Provincial Heritage Site". Germiston City News. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2016.