PIONEER
Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini
Human Rights Activist | ANC member | Constitution drafter
Born : 19 January 1956
“I am not a lawyer but a social scientist specialising in women and development. I believe that equality, freedom, development and peace are inseparable, and that women’s rights are human rights – thus issues relating to women’s rights and women’s equality are very near to my heart. I therefore saw my role in the process of drafting the Bill of Rights as that of ensuring that women’s rights were enshrined ... We still have to make our Constitution a living document respected by all.”
Who is
Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini?
Long-time African National Congress (ANC) political activist and proponent for women’s rights.
Professions
and Roles
South African High Commissioner in Windhoek, Namibia; Constitutional drafter; ANC member.
Best Known For
Significant role in Theme Committee 4 and chairing the subcommittee dealing with deficiencies in the draft Constitution as identified by the Constitutional Court.
Life highlights
- Myakayaka-Manzini obtained her BA from the University of Zambia and Masters from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands.
- Myakayaka-Manzini became involved in the ANC in 1975, serving on the ANC National Women’s Section Secretariat from 1979 to 1990.
- Myakayaka-Manzini assisted the ANC’s military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) by reconnoitring and providing information about the location and activities of the police in the Northern Transvaal area, which she knew very well.
- She served in the leadership of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) from 1990-1991 and as a member of the ANCWL National Executive Committee (NEC) and Working Committee from 1999 to 2008.
- Myakayaka-Manzini participated in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations and served in the Transitional Executive Council from 1993 to 1994.
- She was appointed as an MP in 1994 and as a member of the Management Committee of the Constitutional Assembly.
- Myakayaka-Manzini served as a member of the NEC of the ANC from 1997 to 2007, including as Head of International Relations.
- She served as Deputy President of the ANCWL from 2003 to 2008 as convener of the launch of the Progressive Women’s Movement in 2006.
Myakayaka-Manzini suffered from polio as a child and as a result spent close to four years in hospital.
References
