Lauretta Ngcobo facts for kids

Lauretta Ngcobo (born 13 September 1931 – died 3 November 2015) was a South African writer and activist. She wrote novels and essays. Lauretta lived outside South Africa from 1963 to 1994. She stayed in Swaziland, then Zambia, and finally England. In England, she worked as a teacher for 25 years. After apartheid ended, she returned to South Africa and lived in Durban. Her books from the 1960s to the early 1990s show what life was like for Black women during apartheid. Her most famous novel is And They Didn't Die (1990). This book tells the story of women in South Africa in the 1950s. It shows how they struggled to survive, work the land, and keep their dignity under the apartheid system. This was especially hard when their husbands had to leave to find work in mines and cities.

Growing Up in South Africa

Lauretta Gladys Nozizwe Duyu Gwina was born in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal. Her parents, Rosa and Simon Gwina, were both teachers. She grew up in Ixopo. Lauretta went to Inanda Seminary School near Durban. Later, she became the first woman from her area to study at the University of Fort Hare. After university, she taught for two years. Then, she worked for a science research group in Pretoria. In 1956, she joined the famous women's anti-pass march. This march protested against unfair laws that forced Black South Africans to carry special "pass" books.

In 1957, she married Abednego Bhekabantu Ngcobo. He was one of the people who started the Pan Africanist Congress, a political group. In 1961, her husband was sent to prison for two years. This was under a law called the Suppression of Communism Act. This law was used to silence people who spoke out against the government.

Living Away from Home (1963–1994)

In 1963, Lauretta Ngcobo was about to be arrested. So, she left South Africa with her two young children. They first moved to Swaziland, then to Zambia, and finally to England. In England, she taught at primary schools for 25 years. She became a deputy head and then acting head of a school in Lambeth, south London. She was the only Black staff member there. In 1984, she became the president of ATCAL. This group worked to make school lessons in Britain include more books and stories from Caribbean, African, and Asian writers.

Even while teaching, she found time to write two novels. These were Cross of Gold (1981) and And They Didn't Die (1990). Her second novel, And They Didn't Die, was very important. It showed the experiences of a Black woman in a new way. The main character, Jezile, had her own thoughts and feelings, which was rare in South African books before this novel. The book also showed how apartheid and old traditional laws hurt African women living in special areas called "Bantustans." A review of the book said that Ngcobo wrote with "grace and compassion" about one woman's suffering. It also gave insights into village life, unfair laws, and the strong spirit of people who were treated badly.

Lauretta Ngcobo also edited a book called Let It be Told: Essays by Black Women Writers in Britain (1987). This book included writings from many talented Black women writers. She also wrote a children's book called Fikile Learns to Like Other People (1994). In 2012, she edited another book called Prodigal Daughters. This book was a collection of stories from South African women who had lived in exile, just like her.

Coming Back to South Africa

Lauretta Ngcobo returned to South Africa with her family in 1994. This was after the election where the African National Congress came into power. Her husband passed away in 1997.

Back in South Africa, she taught for a while again. Then, she became a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. This means she was part of the government in the KwaZulu-Natal province. She worked there for 11 years before retiring in 2008. She also wrote many academic articles and spoke at many writers' conferences and universities.

She passed away in a hospital in Johannesburg on 3 November 2015, after having a stroke. The Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa called her a "writer and activist who gave vulnerable women a voice." Another writer said that Lauretta Ngcobo's death meant the loss of a great writer, a freedom fighter, and a strong voice for women's rights.

Awards and Recognition

Lauretta Ngcobo received several important awards for her work:

• In 2006, she won the Lifetime Achievement Literary Award from the South African Literary Awards.
• In 2008, she was given the Order of Ikhamanga. This award was for her work in literature and for promoting equality between men and women.
• In 2012, she was named an eThekwini Living Legend.
• In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate from Durban University of Technology. This was a special degree given to her for her achievements in arts and design.

Selected Books

Novels

• Cross of Gold, novel (1981)
• And They Didn't Die, novel (1990). A part of this book was also included in a famous collection called Daughters of Africa.

As editor

• Let It Be Told: Essays by Black Women Writers in Britain (1987)
• Prodigal Daughters — Stories of South African Women in Exile (2012)

For children

• Fikile Learns to Like Other People (1994)

• Dan Moshenberg, "And she didn’t die: Lauretta Ngcobo and the political economy of women’s 'vulnerability'", The Journalist, 17 November 2015.

See also

In Spanish: Lauretta Ngcobo para niños