Biography of Ellen Kuzwayo

Nnoseng Ellen Kate “Ma K” Kuzwayo was born on 29 June 1914.

Kuzwayo was one of the many prominent women's rights activists and politicians in South Africa. After serving as the president of the African National Congress Youth League in the 1960s, she was elected as the first post-apartheid South African Parliament 1994.

She is most well known for her autobiography, Call Me Woman written in 1985, which won South Africa’s leading CNA Literary Prize. She was the first black writer to win. Her second book of short stories, Sit Down and Listen, was written in 1990.

In the 1980s, Kuzwayo became the first black woman to receive an honorary degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1999, she retired as an MP after five years, when Nelson Mandela gave her an Order of Meritorious Service

Ellen Kuzwayo died on 19 of April 2006 at the age of 91 from complications of diabetes.

Last Modified: Tue, 16 May 2017 14:53:49 SAST