Frene Ginwala

Frene Noshir Ginwala (born 25 April 1932) is a South African journalist and politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from 1994 to 2004. Ginwala is an Indian South African from the Parsi-Indian community of western India. She studied for a DPhil at Linacre College, Oxford.

Ginwala was appointed as the first chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in April 2005. She is one of only four female University Chancellors in South Africa.

Biography

Frene Ginwala (born 25 April 1932) has written a number of books dealing with various aspects of the struggle against injustice. For her efforts, she has been honoured by international and local institutions and governments.

Using her anonymity, she played a tremendous role in establishing underground escape routes for ANC leaders and cadres in the period following the Sharpeville massacre and the declaration of the State of Emergency (SOE) in 1960. These included Deputy-President of the ANC Oliver Tambo and Yusuf Dadoo, two leaders of the liberation movement. She also organised safe houses for those who had to remain in the country. Frene also chauffeured NIC (Natal Indian Congress) leaders Monty Naicker and J. N. Singh, who were operating from the underground after managing to dodge the police swoop. Their instructions were to travel around the province and raise money from secret donors in order to support the families left destitute through the arrest of their breadwinners under the SOE which hung over the country for five months.