Name Elizabeth Mafekeng | Died May 28, 2009 | |
Elizabeth Mafekeng (September 18, 1918 – May 28, 2009) was a trade union political leader who fought against the injustices suffered by the working class and against the racial segregation laws imposed by the apartheid system.
Biography
Mafekeng was born in a small town near Queenstown, Eastern Cape. Like many African families, Mafekeng's family struggled to make a living. At the age of 14, Mafekeng left her hometown for Paarl situated in the Western Cape Province where she arrived in 1927. In 1939, Mafekeng was employed at the H Jones and Co, a canning factory where she endured long working hours and poor working conditions. Mafekeng became involved in the Canning Union in 1941. She was eventually elected president of the A-17CW1J union.
In 1952, she was a participant in the Defiance Campaign and "went to jail carrying her child on her back." She was the representative of the South African Food Workers at a conference in Sofia, where she secretly left South Africa "disguised as a servant," with no passport. In Sofia, she said that she "tasted for the first time real human treatment with no discrimination whatsoever." On her return to South Africa, she faced police brutality and questioning about her business in Sofia.
On the 11th of November 1959, the apartheid regime served Mafekeng with a deportation (banning) order shortly after she had led a huge demonstration in Paarl against an attempt to issue passes to African women. She was the first African woman to be banned. She fled to Lesotho where she endured harsh conditions as well as the heartbreak of being away from her children and husband; however, she continued working relentlessly to bring down apartheid rule.
In 1990, Mafekeng returned to South Africa where she continued her involvement in the trade union movement until her retirement due to ill-health. A home was built for her by the Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) in Mbekweni Township in Paarl. She died on May 28, 2009.
Mafekeng In honour of all the work she did, Elizabeth Mafekeng was awarded with Meritorious Service Posthumously.