AnnMarie Wolpe (1 December 1930 – 14 February 2018, née Kantor) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, sociologist, feminist and writer. Her husband Harold Wolpe was also a South African anti-apartheid activist who was imprisoned along with

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. She fled South Africa after being arrested and interrogated. She wrote of her ordeal and she was among the initial editorial collective of ''

Feminist Review ''Feminist Review'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal with a focus on exploring gender in its multiple forms and interrelationships. The journal was established in 1979. It is published by SAGE Publishing and is edited by a collective. ...

'' when it was founded in 1979.

Early life

AnnMarie Kantor was born 1 December 1930 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, daughter of Abraham and Pauline (née Braude) Kantor, Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Her brother was

James Kantor James Kantor (26 February 1927 – 2 February 1974) was a South African lawyer and writer. James Kantor was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family. A prominent Johannesburg lawyer in the 1950s, Kantor was attorney for Nelson Mandela and i ...

, arrested but acquitted in the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location f ...

. She studied at

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, and there met Harold Wolpe (1926-1996); they married in November 1955, and had three children.

South Africa before exile

Wolpe worked for the Transvaal clothing industry medical aid society, and later ran a bursary fund for African students. Harold Wolpe was arrested in July 1963 along with

and other ANC activists. During his time in prison AnnMarie smuggled files and other tools into the prison hidden in loaves of bread and a roast chicken, and communicated by notes hidden in the collars of the shirts she was allowed to take home to launder. He escaped from prison on 11 August along with three other activists, by bribing a jailer. After his escape, AnnMarie was arrested and brutally interrogated overnight. Fearing further arrest she flew to England, leaving her three children (aged six, five and under six months, the baby recovering from serious pneumonia) with family friends. The children joined her within weeks, and her husband arrived in England in October via Swaziland. She later wrote a book, ''The Long Way Home'', describing this part of her life.

England 1963-1991

Wolpe and her husband both built up academic careers in England. She first worked in the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

Yugoslav studies Yugoslav studies or Yugoslavistics (; ; ; ; ; ) is an academic discipline within Slavic studies and historical studies which is concerned with the study of the 19th-century or earlier origins of the Yugoslav idea, the creation of Yugoslavia, h ...

unit. She then moved to the future

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

and established its Women's Studies programme, gaining a Ph.D. there. She was one of the initial editorial collective for the ''

'', and co-edited a work ''Feminism and Materialism'' with Annette Kuhn.

Return to South Africa

In 1991 the Wolpes returned to South Africa. She worked at

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC; ) is a Public university, public research university in Bellville, South Africa, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the Politics of South Africa, South ...

, initially in its Centre for Adult and Continuing Education and then in the Education Policy Unit until she retired in 1998. She then led a Gender Equity Task Team for the Ministry of Education and set up the Gender Equity Directorate in the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Wolpe died in her sleep on 14 February 2018, aged 87, and was survived by three children and six grandchildren.

Selected publications

* * * * (Reprinted Routledge, 2014, ) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolpe, Annmarie 1930 births 2018 deaths University of the Witwatersrand alumni Academics of Middlesex University Alumni of Middlesex University South African women's rights activists South African women academics Academics of the University of Bradford White South African people Activists from Johannesburg Anti-apartheid activists