Johannesburg: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former wife of the late President Nelson Mandela, died at the age of 81. The family said that she died after a long illness. She was one of the greatest icons of the struggle against apartheid, a statement said. "She fought valiantly against the apartheid state and sacrificed her life for the freedom of the country."
Madikizela-Mandela was known as the "Mother of the Nation" because of her struggle against white-minority rule in South Africa. She was married to Nelson Mandela for 38 years, including the 27 years he was imprisoned. "She kept the memory of her imprisoned husband alive during his years on Robben Island and helped give the struggle for justice in South Africa one of its most recognizable faces," the statement said.
The couple were divorced in 1996, two years after Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black President. They had two daughters together. A longtime stalwart of the ruling African National Congress, Madikizela-Mandela was a member of parliament at the time of her death.
One of the last official visits she received was from current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who went with her to Soweto township last month to encourage people to register to vote in next year's presidential election.
Ramaphosa praised Madikizela-Mandela as "an advocate for the dispossessed and the marginalized" and "a voice for the voiceless." "Even at the darkest moments of our struggle for liberation, Mam' Winnie was an abiding symbol of the desire of our people to be free," Ramaphosa said in a statement. "In the midst of repression, she was a voice of defiance and resistance. In the face of exploitation, she was a champion of justice and equality."
