The 27th of July 2025 is not simply a date. It is a moment stitched into the soul of a political movement.
It is the celebration of fifty years of the Inkatha Freedom Party Women’s Brigade — a living force of women who have built, held, nurtured, defended, and advanced communities across South Africa with courage, conviction, and care. This is not just a golden jubilee. This is a generational inheritance.
For fifty years, the IFP Women’s Brigade has stood at the intersection of politics and people. They have led in times of war and peace. They have served in rural homesteads and parliamentary benches. They have mobilised from church halls to tribal courts, from kitchen tables to policy tables. They have been the unseen architects of stability in a country too often shaken by inequality, violence, and indifference.
Today, as South Africa grapples with the harsh realities of gender-based violence, unrelenting poverty, and deepening disillusionment, the presence of these women — their voice, their history, their sacrifice — becomes more vital than ever before.
And I write this blog, not just as a proud IFP member in the Western Cape, but as a human rights activist, as a survivor of GBV, and as the founder of an award winning women’s rights organisation working at grassroots level in some of South Africa’s most forgotten communities — because I see every day the urgency of their work. And because I know that women are no longer just the backbone of political parties — we are the beating heart of our nation’s healing.
In the dusty roads of the Eastern Cape and provinces alike, I have heard stories that broke me. Stories of mothers who took their own lives — and the lives of their children — because hunger had pushed them past the edge of human endurance.
I have sat with girls who were raped on their way to school. I have held the hands of women who no longer believe justice exists because the courts have failed them too many times. Poverty is not a theory for us. GBV is not a statistic. It is our daily fight.
This is why the story of the IFP Women’s Brigade is not just inspiring — it is essential. Because these are the women who have carried South Africa during the worst of times. They have buried sons during the political violence of the ’80s and ’90s.
They have fought for access to clinics. They have organised feeding schemes with no budget and no recognition. They have offered shelter to the abused, dignity to the forgotten, and spiritual strength to the broken.
Their leadership has never been about status — it has been about service. And today, fifty years later, they are still here. Still fighting. Still serving. Still leading.
At the helm of this remarkable structure is Honourable Princess Phumzile Buthelezi, MPL, a woman whose leadership mirrors the very essence of the Brigade: strong but gentle, principled but compassionate, rooted in culture but open to modern ideas.
Her presence doesn’t just command attention — it commands respect. Princess Buthelezi leads not with a loud voice, but with a deep soul. And under her leadership, the Women’s Brigade continues to respond to poverty, GBV, and inequality not with empty slogans — but with action.
As someone who works in courtrooms, trauma centres, safe houses, and dusty villages, I know how rare it is to find political leaders who truly understand the people. Princess Buthelezi is one of those rare leaders. She embodies servant leadership, and for that, I honour her deeply.
Equally, we as women of the IFP are deeply honoured to be led by our President, Honourable Velenkosini Hlabisa. His leadership has brought stability, dignity, and renewed clarity to our movement. He is a leader who listens. A leader who walks with the people. A leader whose humility is not weakness, but a profound strength.
In a time when many political leaders are out of touch with the pain of ordinary citizens, President Hlabisa stands as a beacon of principle, consistency, and deep moral grounding. His support for the Women’s Brigade, and his unwavering commitment to family values, to traditional leadership, and to justice — these are not just policies on paper. They are policies that protect the soul of this country.
The IFP has always believed that family is the foundation of society. That culture must be respected, not erased. That justice must be accessible, not politicised. These are the same values that shape my work as a human rights activist. My organisation, The Great People of South Africa, operates in both rural and urban spaces, offering legal empowerment, psychosocial support, and community education on gender justice.
Everything we do is in alignment with the core values of the IFP and the Women’s Brigade: dignity, justice, tradition, and truth.
It is this alignment that gives me the courage to say: this movement is home. This Brigade is my sisterhood. These are my people. Abantu bam endizalana nabo.
As we celebrate fifty years of the Women’s Brigade, let us also make a call: the time has come for more women in politics, not just as voters, but as decision-makers. The SADC region has shown us the impact of women presidents, women ministers, women peacekeepers. South Africa is not an exception. We are overdue for women who lead with heart, with history, and with healing. Women who legislate from the scars they carry and the communities they serve.
To every woman in the IFP Women’s Brigade, from the stalwarts who have been here since 1975 to the youngest members finding their political voice today — this celebration is for you. You have given fifty years of your lives to this country. You have built something that no storm can break.
And to the world watching — yes, the IFP Women’s Brigade may be grounded in tradition, but it is not stuck in time. It is a living, breathing, evolving force of change. It is both warrior and womb. It is where politics meets prayer, where community meets constitution, and where women become the architects of a just nation.
As for me — I may not have been there in 1975, but I am here now. And I am ready to walk this journey, not as a guest, but as a comrade. Not as a spectator, but as a builder. Not to seek position, but to serve with purpose.
Happy 50th Anniversary, IFP Women’s Brigade. May your tears water our strength. May your stories teach our daughters. And may your power never be silenced again.
With love, honour, and revolutionary hope,
Zintle Khobeni.
Proud IFP Member in the Western Cape| Award Winning Human Rights Activist | GBV Survivor & Founder of an Award Winning Women's Rights Organization, The Great People of South Africa NPO.
Camagu Makhosikazi. Igama lethu malibongwe ntozakuthi.
