Buyiswa Fazzie

Buyiswa Fazzie
Member of the National Assembly
In office
May 1994 – June 1999
Personal details
Born(1931-07-07)7 July 1931
Grahamstown
Cape Province, South Africa
Died8 September 2018(2018-09-08) (aged 87)
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Spouse
​
(died 2011)​

Buyiswa Fazzie (née Siwisa; 7 July 1931 – 8 September 2018), also known as Ethesian Fazzie, was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999. During apartheid, she was the president of the Port Elizabeth Women's Organisation, the women's wing of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation.

Early life and activism

Fazzie was born on 7 July 1931 in Grahamstown in the former Cape Province.[1] During apartheid, she was a member of the women's committee of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO); with Ivy Gcina, she founded the Port Elizabeth Women's Organisation as a wing of PEBCO.[2][3] She was the inaugural president of PEWO from 1983 to 1991.[1]

Parliament: 1994–1999

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Fazzie was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly, the lower house of the new South African Parliament.[4][5] She held her seat until the next general election in 1999.[3] She later worked as a civil servant in the Department of Health.[3]

Personal life and death

She was married to Umkhonto we Sizwe activist Henry Fazzie,[6] who was detained for long periods during apartheid and with whom she had children.[3][7] She died on 8 September 2018 after a long illness.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Buyiswa Fazzie". Red Location Museum. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  2. ^ Gasa, Nomboniso (2007). Women in South African History: They Remove Boulders and Cross Rivers. HSRC Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-7969-2174-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e "ANC EC statement on the passing away of Mamu Buyiswa Fazzie". African National Congress. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Minutes of proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 24 May 1994. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ^ Johnson, Rachel E. (2014). "Haunted by the Somatic Norm: South African Parliamentary Debates on Abortion in 1975 and 1996". Signs. 39 (2): 502. doi:10.1086/673126. ISSN 0097-9740. JSTOR 10.1086/673126. S2CID 143589459.
  6. ^ Cowell, Alan (4 August 1985). "Black mourners defy South Africa on funeral rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Motion Of Condolence (The Late Mr M H Fazzie)". People's Assembly. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2023.