Albertina Sisulu: nurse, organiser and leader of South Africa’s democratic movement

Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu combined a nursing career, family responsibilities and decades of political organising to become one of South Africa's most respected anti-apartheid leaders.

She was born in the Tsomo district of the Transkei on 21 October 1918. After completing high school at Mariazell College, she trained as a nurse in Johannesburg and qualified in the early 1940s.

Building a political life

Albertina married Walter Sisulu in 1944 and joined the ANC Women's League in 1948. She later became active in the Federation of South African Women and helped organise the 1956 Women's March against pass laws.

Her work extended beyond formal politics. The Sisulu family home in Orlando West became an important meeting place, and Albertina supported the household through her nursing income when Walter became a full-time organiser.

Detention and resistance

After Walter went underground in 1963, Albertina was detained under the General Laws Amendment Act. She became the first woman held under its provision allowing detention without charge for 90 days.

She faced further detention, banning orders and police harassment but remained involved in community and political networks. In 1983 she was elected a co-president of the United Democratic Front, which brought hundreds of civic, labour, student and religious organisations together against apartheid.

Public service and legacy

Albertina and Walter Sisulu both entered Parliament after South Africa's first democratic election in 1994. They retired from formal politics in 1999.

She died at her Johannesburg home on 2 June 2011, aged 92. Her record as a nurse, organiser, parent and national leader remains central to the history of women's political work and the broader liberation movement.