Mary Nonyembezi Ngalo (nee Plaatjie) was a South African anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activist and was also active in fighting for women's rights. Mary Nonyembezi Margaret Ngalo (nee Plaatjie) was born in Cradock, Eastern Cape, South Africa. She was the daughter of Tom Cetywayo and Lillian Fihliwe "Leah" Plaatjie. She met and married Zenzile Ngalo in Cradock. She started participating in politics at an early age. She joined the ANC Youth League. As a leader of women in Cradock, she was elected as the branch secretary of the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...

. She held her post till she fled Cradock in 1961. She mobilised hundreds of women to join the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

which was a non-racial body of women who fought in the struggle against Apartheid. The ANC Women's League launched the

Beer Hall Boycott The Beer Hall Boycott of South Africa was a women-led national campaign of boycotting municipal beerhalls. According to the Native Beer Act of 1908 it was illegal for women to brew traditional beer. Police raided homes and destroyed home brewed li ...

in Cradock. Ngalo encouraged men to use the money they earned on their families instead of the beerhalls. She was arrested in 1957 during the boycott with her baby son. They spent one month in prison. During the 1960 State of Emergency, she was forced into hiding in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

. Her husband and other ANC militants from Cradock including Eric Vora and Lennon Melane were imprisoned in

in the 1960s. Zenzile Ngalo later escaped South Africa. The ANC Women's League organised for her to flee with her 3 children due to increased police persecution. She met her husband in Tanzania where he was an official. In Tanzania, she was elected secretary of the ANC's Women's section Bureau in Tanzania, which was an external arm of the ANC Women's League. She worked alongside Ruth Mompati, Edna Mgabaza and

Florence Mophosho Florence Mophosho (1921 – 9 August 1985) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist of the African National Congress (ANC). A stalwart of the ANC Women's League, she was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee from 19 ...

. Mary and Zenzile Ngalo were transferred by the ANC to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, Egypt. In 1968 Mary Ngalo was appointed to the Women's Bureau of the

Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation The Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the ideals of national liberation and Third World solidarity. The organization is based in Egypt and has around 26-50 staff. The ...

(AAPSO). She attended the 5th conference of AAPSO in Cairo in January 1972 as well as the 10th anniversary of the All Africa Women's Conference in Dar-es-Salaam in 1972. She played an active role in this organisation till her sudden death in Cairo on 16 March 1973. Her mother still lived in Cradock at her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngalo, Mary Anti-apartheid activists South African prisoners and detainees South African women's rights activists 1973 deaths Year of birth missing People from Cradock, Eastern Cape