Lala Ngoxolo,Madiba – Rest in peace,Madiba

Abstract

December 2013 Lala Ngoxolo, Madiba – Rest in peace, Madiba

The editorial team of Feminism & Psychology mourns the passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, lawyer, key anti-apartheid activist, leader of the African National Congress, political prisoner for 27 years, Nobel peace prize winner, first president of democratic South Africa, international icon and statesperson, father, grandfather.

Given the racialised logic of apartheid, Mandela will be well remembered for his fight against racial domination. Nevertheless, he keenly understood oppression as taking multiple and intersecting forms. At the opening of the first democratically elected South African parliament in 1994, he asserted, “Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression”. The South African constitution, promulgated during his presidency, indicates, “The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.” This foundation has enabled diverse activisms and led to the improvement of many people’s lives.

In his absolute dedication to, and belief in, liberation, Mandela was also realistic about the necessity for ongoing struggle, even when significant gains are made. In his inaugural celebration address as the first president of democratic South Africa in 1994, he said:

We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist government. We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success … . Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another

Throughout its history, Feminism & Psychology has published research that engages “gendered realities along multiple intersecting dimensions of difference, privilege and inequality” (see F&P Aims & Scope). We remind ourselves, in this time of reflection that the contemplation of a life so fully lived brings, of the requirement to understand oppression as multiply and complexly embedded in shifting power relations, and of the need for ongoing and committed work towards justice for all. We are inspired by the life and work of Mandela, and by the global mourning of his passing. We re-commit ourselves, in memory of Mandela, to F&P continuing as “a forum for critical, radical, and provocative feminist scholarship that serves as an impetus for social change, and for theoretical and methodological innovations in feminist psychology” (citation from “Distinguished Leadership on Behalf of Women in Psychology” award, Committee on Women in Psychology of the American Psychological Association, 2013). We thank the associate editors, editorial board members, authors, reviewers and editorial and management staff of the journal for their contributions to this mission.