South Africa's leading woman struggle icon, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was honoured for her courage, bravery and revolutionary spirit - something she demonstrated for more than six decades of her life as a freedom fighter.

Madikizela-Mandela, who passed away in 2018, was celebrated during a public memorial lecture in her name which launched the Gauteng Provincial Government's Human Rights Day Celebrations at the Women's Jail in Constitution Hill, Johannesburg on Thursday.

Delivering the keynote address, Gauteng MEC for finance and economic development, Lebogang Maile remembered her unwavering revolutionary spirit as well as being a mother to all.

"Mamma Winnie was a mother to all of us regardless of our political persuasion. She was a one-
woman resistance army and a truly revolutionary who was guided by great feeling of love. She was truly the mother of the nation, who was also one of the first women to serve time in this very same jail," he stated.

Maile said the Women's Jail in Constitution Hill was built before Madikizela-Mandela was born and although she knew the horrors of colonialism intimately, it was within these walls and other prisons where she spent months in solitary confinement.

"She would come to know the evil of apartheid as she was dehumanised, tortured and beaten. She would write in her biography that these horrors and experiences hardened her and reaffirmed her commitment to the struggle for justice," Maile said.

On Thursday, a day before Human Rights Day various government officials and other dignitaries gathered at the Constitution Hill for the Winnie Mandela Commemorative Lecture, which kicked off the province's series of Human Rights Day events.

Over the past seven years, the Gauteng Provincial Government, through the Department of Economic Development’s entity has used the Constitution Hill precinct as an annual pilgrimage dedicated to fostering dialogue, creativity and advocacy for justice and equality, and this year the provincial government sought to honour Madikizela-Mandela for her bravery and courage in confronting the inhumane apartheid regime, which branded her and many others as terrorists.

Touching on her ability to lead from the front, Maile described her as a "one woman resistance army" saying: "Mama Winnie who qualified as the first social worker was deeply invested in the community and belonged to the woman "manyano", her principles of uniting black women was evidenced by her unity with other women whose husbands had been incarcerated by the apartheid state.... She also found and strengthen communities in the arts. Many do not know she was a patron of the arts and an avid singer in her own right," he said.

During her brief opening address, Gauteng MEC for social development, Faith Mazibuko reflected on the legacy of Madikizela-Mandela and the purpose of the memorial lecture.

"I'm sure you all remember what this day symbolises. This is when 50 women were killed for carrying passes. Today we honour their courage in memory of Mama Winnie Mandela as they represent the principles enshrined in our constitution which outline and guarantee us equality, freedom and dignity.

"Today we celebrate the legacy of Mama Winnie who passed away on 2 April 2018. This public lecture seeks to unpack all of that as we continue the fight," Mazibuko said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za