{"id":112948,"date":"2018-04-13T10:47:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T08:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/winnie-madikizela-mandelas-legacy-echoes-of-argentinas-evita-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-04-13T10:47:39","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T08:47:39","slug":"winnie-madikizela-mandelas-legacy-echoes-of-argentinas-evita-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/winnie-madikizela-mandelas-legacy-echoes-of-argentinas-evita-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy: Echoes of Argentina’s Evita | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy: Echoes of Argentina’s Evita<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at her 80th birthday celebrations. <\/span> GCIS<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The death of 81-year-old Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has plunged many South Africans into grief. Her story and legacy of struggle is being remembered and examined. <\/p>\n

Her death comes at a critical point in the country\u2019s history: the end of former president Jacob Zuma\u2019s traumatic and tumultuous leadership. The \u201cZuma years\u201d tore apart the African National Congress (ANC) government. It also hobbled the economy and polarised the nation. The ANC, which has dominated since inclusive democracy in 1994, is now weakened. <\/p>\n

Against this backdrop Madikizela-Mandela\u2019s death is a bittersweet reminder of what the ANC \u2013 the foremost national liberation movement on the African continent \u2013 symbolises. It also evokes memories of the unwavering idealism and courage of the men and women who fought long and hard in the name of freedom. The nation is now, probably for the first time since 1994, taking serious pause and truly reflecting on what the ANC revolutionaries sacrificed for this country.<\/p>\n

Madikizela-Mandela\u2019s legacy is being reconsidered, too. There\u2019s been a national outpouring of tributes commemorating her as freedom fighter, revolutionary, activist and Mother of the Nation. These affirming narratives are a counterpoint to the serious controversies that seemingly tarnished her political career and legacy in the latter years of her life: the criminal activities of her Mandela United Football Club in the 1980s, unanswered questions around the kidnapping and murder of teenage activist Stompie Seipei in 1989 and her convictions for fraud.<\/p>\n

There are echoes in this reclaimed narrative of the Evita effect. The way Madikizela-Mandela is being remembered recalls the outpouring of grief and iconic status Eva Peron, the First Lady of Argentina who was known as Evita, was accorded after she died in 1952. Evita\u2019s powerful legacy lives on today. She has attained almost mythical proportions in her country. <\/p>\n

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Evita Peron are two different women from a different historical time, context, culture and geopolitical space. This is not an attempt to compare them. But there are some interesting parallels that explain how such women, despite their conflicted national identities and flawed personas, powerfully elicit a national outpouring of grief and capture the imagination of the people.<\/p>\n

Idealised, iconic women<\/h2>\n

Evita was described in the weeks after her death as<\/p>\n

\n

ambitious, ruthless, untiring, clever and strikingly beautiful. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Madikizela-Mandela is also a disputed and even divisive national figure. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Eva Peron, known as Evita, captured Argentina\u2019s imagination and has been venerated in death.<\/span> ALFREDO MAZZOROTOLO\/EPA<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beautiful Evita\u2019s reputation is disputed in Argentinian politics. She is venerated for her fight for women\u2019s suffrage and her mission to uplift the masses \u2013 the \u2018misdescamisados<\/em>\u2019 (\u201cmy shirtless ones\u201d), as she named them. Similarly, the beautiful Winnie\u2019s struggle legacy strongly emerges as one that gives voice to the voiceless. She championed the marginalised, the downtrodden and the \u201cpoorest of the poor\u201d. <\/p>\n

Such women achieve powerful iconic and even mythical status by embodying the idealised woman. They are better than reality and imbued with the essence of the feminine. They are primarily remembered for their beauty, style, charm, empathy and compassion for the downtrodden, the marginalised and vulnerable. <\/p>\n

Idealised, they are easily recognisable and accessible to the masses that seek to embrace their memory. Dissenting narratives that do not affirm and sustain the mythical storyline are eroded.<\/p>\n

Feminine archetypes<\/h2>\n

Evita and Winnie are feminine archetypes, dubbed the Spiritual Leader of the Nation and the Mother of the Nation respectively. <\/p>\n

In the patriarchal tradition, such women also become repositories for the nation\u2019s angst. They come to serve as a catharsis for the communal memories and pent up, enmeshed emotions of love, fear, humiliation, anger \u2013 and even hate.<\/p>\n

What is seared in the world\u2019s memory are the globally televised images of Nelson Mandela and his then wife Winnie walking hand-in-hand, with their raised Black Power salutes. This image is now tinged with sadness when we are poignantly reminded how isolated and cast aside Winnie was so many times in her life: <\/p>\n

\n

In the whirlwind of events following Mandela\u2019s release from prison and the start of negotiations designed to ensure a peaceful transition rather than a bloodbath in South Africa \u2026 no one bothered to find out what Winnie needed and wanted, how her life had changed or what her aspirations might be\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If the recent outpouring of tributes to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela\u2019s indomitable spirit is any indication, then the long lens of history could raise her to mythical heights. With the Evita effect she may achieve the national recognition, veneration and empathy that was not afforded to her in life and the kind of iconic status that she, as a woman, could never have imagined.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Lyn Snodgrass does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
\n<\/p>\n

Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Join the fun:<\/strong> Add Your event<\/a> | Submit a Press Release<\/a> | Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy: Echoes of Argentina’s Evita: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at her 80th birthday celebrations. GCIS The death of 81-year-old Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has plunged many South Africans into grief. Her story and legacy of struggle is being remembered and examined. Her death comes at a critical point in the country\u2019s history: the end of former president […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[30050,8890,2279,30051,5169,29995,4414],"class_list":{"0":"post-112948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-argentinas","8":"tag-conversation","9":"tag-echoes","10":"tag-evita","11":"tag-legacy","12":"tag-madikizelamandelas","13":"tag-winnie","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}