Prudence Nobantu Mabele


Prudence Nobantu Mabele was a South African activist who advocated for the rights of women and children living with HIV, and against gender-based violence.

Early life

Prudence was born in the Wattville township near Benoni, in the east of Johannesburg, South Africa on 21 July 1971. She was raised by her caring grandmother Nosifako Elizabeth Mabele and her grandfather July Mabele as her mother was in exile and her father an uMkhonto we Sizwe soldier. The first of four sisters, Prudence left Wattville for Pietermaritzburg to obtain secondary education and afterwards attended the Technikon Witwatersrand and Cape Town Technikon in 1990 when she was first diagnosed with HIV infection. Despite several challenges occasioned by the diagnosis of HIV infection at a young age, Prudence successfully obtained a diploma in light current electrical engineering in 1994. Her other academic accomplishments include a diploma in psychology at Intec College in 1996, a diploma in Management from the Wits Business School and Certificates on "Women in Management", "HIV and AIDS Leadership" and "Monitoring and Evaluation for Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs.
Mabele completed her training as a sangoma in 2004.

Organisations affiliated to Mabele

At her death, Mabele was the President of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa, Executive Director of Positive Women's Network, an organisation she founded, and Deputy Chair of the Civil Society Forum - South African National AIDS Council.
Mabele was also a founding co-chair of WomenNOW! Summit on Pan-African & African Diasporan Women's Sexual & Reproductive Health and Justice.
Mabele held several leadership positions including being a founding member of the Treatment Action Campaign and the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS in 1994; a founding member and former executive committee Chair of the AIDS Consortium. 6

HIV

Mabele was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1990. She stated that she "looked for people she could share her anxiety with. But her search for a friend led her to hospital wards full of dying babies". It was during this time that she saw the need for a support group for women.
"In 1992 spurred by the need to act against the silence and stigma that surrounded HIV Mabele took the bold step to become one of the first black women in South Africa to publicly disclose her HIV status at a time when the first democratic elections were two years away and HIV was associated with white gay men. She was then forced to change her course of study from Medical Technology to Electrical Engineering because of perceived risks to future patients she might work with. This defining decision prepared her for a long and challenging professional life in which she steadfastly stood up for herself as a young woman living with HIV and promoted policies and programs that would benefit women in general. For example, as far back as 1996, Mabele through her work with Yale University and the South African Department of Health was instrumental in introducing female condoms to South Africa." 6
"Mabele responded positively to her own situation at a tender age and learned to confront and challenge prejudices both at the community level and in the healthcare profession. Within South Africa and outside South Africa, she has contributed enormously toward the “meaningful participation of people living with HIV”, ensuring that they are just not seen but listened to and their expertise utilized. Without a doubt, she has been one of the key global champions highlighting the gravity of the issues faced by girls and young women on the continent in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic." 6
"As a volunteer at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital counselling HIV positive mothers and babies in 1993, Prudence became inspired by this experience to found the Positive Women Network in 1996 to address the social and reproductive health needs of positive women."6 In 1996, Mabele and five other women founded the Positive Women's Network of South Africa "to provide a space for HIV positive women to address our economic, educational and health needs and to project our voices and demands for services, rights and respect.."
As one of South Africa's leading spokespersons and an advocate for people living with HIV, in 2004 Mabele carried the Olympic torch as part of an international torch relay for the 2004 Olympics in Greece.
Mabele was renowned for her work with women's HIV support groups. Colleague and friend Sisonke Msimang wrote of her: "Donors stopped funding support groups because they were no longer fashionable. But Pru knew the truth, which was that life for women happens in conversations, in the time it takes to sit with one another. Those groups were emotional life support for women who were in critical condition, whose lives had been shattered and whose hearts needed piecing together. Pru did that work. She visited so many grieving families. When lesbians were killed, Pru went. When another HIV-positive woman died, Pru was there. When a woman was murdered, Pru was at the front. Painted up, dolled up, voice ragged, breathing through her mouth, swearing and joking and sweating, she was there."

Gender advocate

Mabele was a strong advocate for ending violence against women and was a member of the One in Nine Campaign. One in Nine began in response to the rape trial of Jacob Zuma, who was at that time, Deputy President. One in Nine is named for the fact that only One in Nine women in South Africa reports crime to the police, a stark piece of evidence as to how inaccessible and unwelcoming the police and judicial system in SA is.
Mabele herself said: "I believe that the quality of women’s leadership is even more important than the numbers of women in leadership."
Mabele was one of the founding members of the Bring Back Our Girls South Africa campaign.
Mabele also starred in a film called Sunshine Boutique.

Global work

"For over two decades, Prudence has played a pioneering and leading role in the fight against HIV/AIDS and has been recognized internationally, nationally and regionally for her dedicated contribution to the HIV response." 6
"Mabele made her global debut at the Beijing Women’s Conference in 1995, in which she was a previously unknown young woman from the African continent who counselled everyone, including the powerful, about the need to seek solutions from those directly experiencing the effects of the epidemic."6
"On the regional and global level, Prudence worked extensively from 1997 in different countries as a member of the Commonwealth program called Positive Young Ambassadors of Hope which attempted to increase the visibility of HIV and youth. This opened the door for her work with the United Nations Development Programme as a GIPA consultant to enhance the acceptance of HIV positive persons in the workplace. Her other assignments include those with UNAIDS, United Nations Development Program, UNFPA, the World Bank, the African Union, and the governments of Venezuela, Botswana, Nigeria and the United States. She has also supported the work of numerous international organisations such as Oxfam, Voluntary Services Overseas, the European Union Human Rights Foundation, Amnesty International, the Centre for Development and Population Activities, the Population Council and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the Society of Women and AIDS in Africa. One of Mabele's key strengths was her ability to maintain ties locally, nationally, regionally and internationally and to permeate these spaces with a message of hope and resilience." 6
"It is a tribute to her international profile that Prudence was one of the Olympic torch bearers for the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay event where the theme was "Pass the flame, unite the world". This worldwide relay united the five continents and travelled to 33 cities in 26 countries." 6
"At the World Social Forum in Brazil in 2005, Prudence gave a presentation on defending women’s knowledge against free trade agreement. This information was shared with indigenous women from Latin America, and included discussions about traditional medicines – and how this century-old wisdom has often been stolen by trans-national pharmaceutical companies – without compensation." 6
"It was no surprise given Prudence’s contributions on the continent and globally, that the African Women’s Development Fund’s in 2010 honoured her with Woman of Substance Award for being a mobilizer par excellence with a vision and commitment to the advancement of women with HIV and AIDS and a source of hope to women."
"In 2010, Prudence was on the cover page of one of UNAIDS Outlook Reports. She was quoted thus “One of the greatest satisfactions I get from my work is to see a woman taking the steps toward knowing herself, accepting her HIV status, learning to stay healthy and ultimately becoming a leader and agent of change”. This is precisely what Mabele's life has been about." 6

Stance on Traditional medicine and Western ARVs

Mabele was herself a trained sangoma and took ARVs when they became available on the public health system in South Africa. She supported the use of ARVs because she herself had first-hand seen the destruction caused by AIDS. Mabele answered her calling to become a traditional healer several years after starting ARVs, and almost a decade after she found out her HIV status.
Mabele was, in fact, the target of a march in 2004 when more than 500 traditional healers marched to give her a petition against the Treatment Action Campaign. The issue was that TAC was only promoting ARVs and not traditional medicine.
"That was very interesting. I had to go and collect their memorandum. Antiretrovirals were still new in South Africa and, as a healer, I was taking ARVs. It was serious. It was hectic. I was scared. They all looked at me as a traitor. I remember them coming , toyi-toying and singing 'phansi ngo Prudence' ! They were saying that we are more into ARVs than their herbs. But that was not the case. I am a healer; being on treatment helps me to stay balanced, it helps me to do all my rituals and it helps me to dance. It makes me feel good."

Quotes

"For Prudence, hard work goes with fun and happiness. Those who know her well know that she is constantly on the move and makes every attempt to live her life to the fullest. She enjoys music, movies, arts, and drama. She loves clothes and shoes and admires the creativity of many South African designers. Prudence’s love for the arts and nature stems from the inner fulfilment she derides and the way in which these uplift her spiritually and connect with her African identity. There is so much we can say about Prudence – I believe most positive and reaffirming. However, she would like to describe herself as a woman that is a God-loving feminist and believes in women‘s rights, and the need to love and reach out to other people no matter their personal circumstances." Eka Williams at Mabele's 40th Birthday Celebration.6

Death

Prudence Mabele died from pneumonia on 10 July 2017. The family of Prudence Mabele announced her death saying:
"It is with profound sorrow that the Mabale family announces the death of their daughter Prudence Nobantu Mabele. A leading advocate for people living with HIV & AIDS, a respected gender activist, and one of the first black women in South Africa to disclose her HIV status..."

Awards

Source: see References.
Mabele was the recipient of many awards over the years due to her untiring work on health and human rights:
Source: see References.