Background
Cachalia was born Amina Asvat in Vereeniging, South Africa, on 28 June 1930.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Amina Cachalia
Edit Profilemember of the National Assembly of South Africa
Career
Her late husband was political activist Yusuf Cachalia. She began campaigning against Apartheid and racial discrimination as a teenager. She became a women"s rights activist, often focusing on economic issues, such as financial independence for women.
She became a staunch anti-apartheid activist.
She spent fifteen years under house arrest throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1995 Mandela asked Cachalia to marry him.
Cachalia was elected as an Member of Parliament to the National Assembly of South Africa in the 1994 South African general election, the country"s first with universal adult suffrage. In 2004, she was awarded the Order of Luthuli in Bronze for her contributions to gender and racial equality and democracy.
In March 2013, 37 days after her death, her autobiography When Hope and History Rhyme was published.
Cachalia died at Milpark Hospital in Parktown West, Johannesburg, on 31 January 2013, aged 82. The cause of death was complications following an emergency operation due to a perforated ulcer. Her funeral was held in her home in Parkview, Johannesburg.
lieutenant was attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, former President Thabo Mbeki, Trevor Manuel among others
Membership
She was the treasurer of the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw), a leading supporter of the Federation of Transvaal Women, and a member of both the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress and Transvaal Indian Congress during the Apartheid era.
Connections
-
Born
-
Died
January 31, 2013 (aged 82) -
Nationality
South African