Emma Mashinini (21 August 1929 – 10 July 2017[1]) was a South African trade unionist and political leader.
She served on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and went on to become a Commissioner for Restitution of Land Rights.
Prospect Township was a common destination for Black families who had been evicted from their residence in White areas.
[2] Most of the people in Prospect Township were relocated to Orlando, Soweto, but Mashinini's family was able to resettle in Sophiatown.
In addition to the difficult conditions and bad pay offered to factory workers, Black women faced a unique and many-layered set of challenges.
Treated as inferior to other workers, Black women faced police brutality and the violence of poverty under Apartheid when they returned home each day.
They would use me like a fire extinguisher, always there to stop trouble.Ultimately, she wrote, "I had a dual role in the factory, but I was very clear where my first loyalty lay.
She was elected to the executive committee of the National Union of Clothing Workers (NUCW), on which she served for twelve years.
[5] Her husband, Tom Mashinini, raised awareness about her imprisonment and organised demonstration at the Supreme Court.
"[13] She returned to a leadership position in the SACCAWU, which expanded to 60,000 members and won increased rights for female workers.
[5] When the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was being formed in 1985, Mashinini was an outspoken advocate for the inclusion of female unionists.
[5][14] In 1995, Mashinini was appointed as a Commissioner for Restitution of Land Rights, returning to Pretoria as a part of the government.
[17] In 2002, she commented that she was "greatly distressed" by a court ruling limiting compensation for the many South Africans claiming land rights.