Singing from beyond the grave: Nokuthela Linderely Dube returned to memory

Abstract

Nokuthela Linderely Dube, one of the first black women to qualify as a teacher, author of the first Zulu songbook and wife to John Langalibalele, the first president of the African National Congress, is a significant figure whose memory has been buried in history. She represents the first generation of African women who pioneered women’s struggle against cul-tural, racial and political oppression. She regarded her oppose-tion to forms of oppression as a result of being raised in the church and growing up at a mission station. In spite of her outstanding contribution to the education of Africans and her support to the work of the ANC and the church, she remains unknown by many South Africans. This article seeks to exa-mine and contribute to her legacy. The aim is to bring forth lessons gleaned from her legacy that can be used in a democratic South Africa, where women continue to struggle for a culture of gender equality to be fully inculcated at all levels of society.

Woman has from time immemorial been looked upon as inferior to man, and in order to destroy this mischievous idea we desire to have girls as regular boarders and to give them work with the young Zulu men and boys. The latter will then get an idea of the intellectual strength of womankind and lose his erroneous ideas of his own mental superiority. We cannot hope to raise the Zulu men to any very high standard unless we show them that they are not superior to the women – J. L. Dube.