NPR

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies At 81

The South African icon, who married Nelson Mandela before his imprisonment, long symbolized the struggle against apartheid. In her later years, she was linked to multiple controversies.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela waves as she attends the 54th ANC National Conference in Johannesburg late last year.

Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the wife of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, and a leading anti-apartheid figure in her own right during the country's most turbulent years, has died at age 81.

The ruling African National Congress, to which both Mandelas belonged, said in a statement that she died Monday in Johannesburg "after a long

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