Nosipho Dastile (1938–2009) was a community and anti-Apartheid activist in the small town of

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

, just outside

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 ...

. She was elected councillor under the banner of what was then the new democratically constituted Uitenhage Transitional Local Council from 1994 to 1999.

Early life

Nosipho Dastile was born in 1938 in Uitenhage, where she attended her junior and secondary school education. After completing her education, she began working as a community activist in the Uitenhage area, particularly focused on education. Part of her community work was that she volunteered as a teacher at the Roman Catholic Mission School and later moved on to the Little Flower Primary School, where she worked as a full-time teacher. During the high tide of political activism in South Africa, after the institutionalization of

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 ...

as the official political governing system, she became active in politics and was one of the founding members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Uitenhage. Her political activism grew from strength to strength and in an election held at the Uitenhage Town Hall, she was elected the inaugural president of the Uitenhage Women’s Organisation. Uitenhage Victoria Tower, South Africa

Political life

Soon after the unbanning of political parties and exiled freedom fighters constituting the liberation movement in 1990, Nosipho was elected as the chairperson of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

Women’s League (ANCWL) for the Uitenhage region. She continued her activist work and serving the people and community of Uitenhage and in 1994 was elected as the first councillor under the banner of the new democratically constituted Uitenhage Transitional Local Council for a period spanning five years until 1999. After this, she took time away from political life due to an illness but continued to volunteer as a teacher at the Ruth Dano crèche in Uitenhage. She subsequently passed away in May 2009 at the age of 71 years. She was peacefully laid to rest amongst her people on 23 May 2009 at the Kwanobuhle Cemetery with prominent

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

political figures in attendance.

Honours

The

regional offices in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape are named Florence Matomela House. The artist Nombulelo Dassie created a sculpture of Florence Matomela. A year long exhibition curated by Nomabaso Bedeshe was held at

Red Location Museum The Red Location Museum is a museum in the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The museum was opened to the public on 10 November 2006 as a tribute to the struggle against Apartheid. It is situated in a shack settlement that ...

honouring

Florence Matomela Florence Matomela (1910–1969) was a South African people, South African anti-pass laws, pass law activist, communist, civil rights campaigner, African National Congress, ANC veteran, teacher and mother who dedicated her life to fighting against A ...

, Nontuthuzelo Mabala,

Veronica Sobukwe Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe (27 July 1927 – 15 August 2018) was a South African nurse who played an integral role in the Defiance Campaign. Her husband, Robert Sobukwe, was a prominent political dissident. Her family was constantly harassed by th ...

Lilian Diedricks Lilian Diedericks (17 December 1925 in Port Elizabeth, Red Location – 21 December 2021 in Port Elizabeth) was a South African activist known as a founding member of the Federation of South African Women. She was an active shop steward and co-fo ...

and Nosipho Dastile. The exhibition included the biographies and photographs of the five women.

External links

Nelson Mandela Bay Government

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dastile, Nosipho 1938 births 2009 deaths Xhosa people

Early life

Political life

Honours

See also

External links

References