The African National Congress Women’s League is deeply saddened by the
passing of the Father of our Nation and Icon of our Struggle,
Isithwalandwe-Seaparankwe, Comrade President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. A
freedom fighter, revolutionary, statesman, global icon and a family man,
Tata Madiba was the embodiment of the values that define humanity’s quest
for peace, equality, justice and service.

Comrade Nelson Mandela, working together with his comrades and peers,
served the people of South Africa with diligence, humility and
selflessness. His unrelenting and unshakeable pursuit of the vision of a
united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist society was the oil that
fuelled the struggles of the people of South Africa and elsewhere;
defying incarceration and in our darkest days, emboldening the masses of
our people, young and old, men and women to fight harder, longer,
stronger for their liberation and freedom as they knew that their freedom
was intricately and inextricably linked to his.

As women of South Africa and the world, we owe an immeasurable debt of
gratitude to Tata Mandela and his generation, including amongst them
luminaries such as Mama Sisulu, Mama Ngoyi and Comrade Helen Joseph, for
their commitment to the cause of the empowerment and emancipation of
women; understanding that the gender struggle was not an isolated
struggle but a critical component of the liberation of all people. On a
difficult day for the world like today, the African National Congress
Women’s League remembers Madiba's words at the 90th birthday of his
friend and comrade-in-arms, Comrade Walter SIsulu that, “What counts in
life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we
have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of
the life we lead.” The African National Congress Women’s League is
certain it speaks on behalf of all women when we say “Sibamba
ngazozombini Madiba, Yem Yem”. The difference you have made to the lives
of others speaks volumes and tells a story of a significant life led.

The African National Congress Women’s League sends its condolences to
Mama Graca Machel, Tata's children and the entire Mandela Family. May you
be consoled by the knowledge that your pain is shared, never in equal
measure, but as sincerely by the world at large.