South Africa’s monumental leader in the struggle against apartheid, Nelson Mandela, died today at age 95. Not only did he fight against the oppression of black Africans, but he supported the rights of women. Under his one-term presidency in the 1990s, South Africa signed and ratified the CEDAW treaty—something the U.S. has yet to do.
And he leaves us with these stirring words:
Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.