Emma Mashinini
| Emma Mashinini | |
|---|---|
| Born |
21 August 1929 Rosettenville, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Other names | "Tiny Giant" |
| Education | Bantu Secondary School |
| Alma mater | Honorary Doctorate in literature and philosophy, Unisa |
| Occupation | Trade unionist, Land commissioner, textile worker |
| Employer | Henochsberg's Clothing Factory |
| Organization | Secretary of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union 1975–86, member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); Director, Department of Justice and Reconciliation, Anglican Church of Southern Africa, 1986; Commissioner, Restitution of Land Rights, 1995–2002 |
| Notable work | Strikes have followed me all my life, autobiography |
| Awards | The National Women's Assembly for Labour award, 1986, The Gauteng Premier's Award for Women Achievers, 2001, The Lifetime Social Leader Award, 2007, The Trevor Huddleston "Not for Your Comfort" Award, 2008, The Elijah Bahayi Award, 2008, Order of the Baobab, 2007, National Order of Luthuli in Bronze, 2007 |
Emma Mashinini (born 21 August 1929) is a South African trade unionist and political leader. Living in Johannesburg, her family was forcibly displaced several times during her childhood. She started working at age 14 and soon became a union organiser at her garment factory. She became active with the African National Congress (ANC) in 1956. Mashinini served for 12 years on the executive board of the National Union of Clothing Workers (NUCW) and founded the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) in 1975. She was arrested and detained without charges for six months in 1981–82.
Mashinini played several important roles in the transition to ANC rule in the 1980s and 1990s. She served on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and went on to become a Commissioner for Restitution of Land Rights. Her autobiography, titled Strikes Have Followed Me All My Life, was published in 1989 and republished in 2012. She has received numerous awards and decorations, including the Order of the Baobab and the Order of Luthuli.
Mashinini was born in Rosettenville, a white suburb of Johannesburg. Her family lived in the backyard of a house where her mother, Joana, did housework. When Mashinini was six years old, her family moved to Prospect Township, a neighbourhood near City Deep. Prospect Township was a common destination for Black families who had been evicted from their residence in White areas. In 1936, this neighbourhood too was aggressively gentrified, razed under the Johannesburg Slums Act of 1934. Most of the people in Prospect Township were relocated to Orlando, Soweto, but Mashinini's family was able to resettle in Sophiatown. Sophiatown was forcibly evicted in turn, several years later, and Mashinini's family moved to Soweto.
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