The African National Congress (ANC) Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Yasmin Jessie Duarte was laid to rest on Sunday at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.
At the funeral, President Cyril Ramaphosa reflected in the eulogy that: “We gather here in sorrow and disbelief”.
Duarte succumbed to cancer in the early hours of Sunday after an eight-month battle against the disease. She was 68.
“Although our beloved comrade, Jessie has been gravely ill for several months, it is difficult to comprehend that someone with such vitality and such spirit has departed this earth,” said Ramaphosa.
“‘Comrade Jessie was a faithful, dedicated, and fiercely loyal leader of the African National Congress.
“It is difficult to imagine the ANC without our beloved DSG, and to think that we will never again hear her voice and her laughter carrying down the corridors of Luthuli House.”
For close on 10 years, Duarte served as ANC DSG and also served on the party’s powerful National Executive Committee for 25 years.
“And from the years of her youth to her final days, she served the people of South Africa with dedication, with humility, and with a passion that is all too rare,” said the President.
Among the mourners were Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the Duarte, Dangor, and Whitley families, Deputy President David Mabuza, Gauteng Premier David Makhura, former premier Tokyo Sexwale, other ministers, deputy ministers, leaders of the ANC, the Alliance, and religious and community leaders.
They were reminded by the President that Duarte worked alongside “great leaders of our struggle”.
Ramaphosa said: “She learnt the politics of liberation from leaders like Mama Albertina Sisulu, Oom Beyers Naudé and Madiba.
“From them, she imbibed the qualities of revolutionary leadership.
“Qualities that she was to demonstrate in every position she occupied. Qualities that she was to pass on to future generations of activists.”
Throughout her life, Jessie Duarte was an organiser of many sectors including women’s entities.
As the Secretary of the Federation of Transvaal Women FEDTRAW she was part of building and leading a powerful womens movement that directly challenged the oppression of black women and shook the foundations of the apartheid state.
Duarte mobilised women across the country to resist the restrictions imposed upon them by a racist and sexist political system and a patriarchal society.
Like the generations that had come before – the defiant women who burnt their passes in 1913, and the defiant women who marched on the Union Buildings in 1956 – Duarte was determined that women should occupy their rightful place in the struggle for national liberation.
“We remember her immense contribution to the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the experiences of women in detention,” said the President.
“We remember the courage with which she spoke against the abuse of women not just by the apartheid security forces, but within the ranks of the liberation movement itself.
“Even in the democratic era, Jessie was relentless in advancing the position of women in all areas of public and private life.
“She confronted the patriarchal attitudes and practices that sought to diminish the role and contribution of women in Parliament, in government, and across society.
“She did not hesitate to confront inadequate representation of women in the ANC itself.”
Duarte was also an organiser of workers.
Her involvement in the mobilisation of domestic workers was part of a lifelong commitment to the struggles of the working class
Duarte’s role in the formation of the Congress of South African Writers and her work for Ravan Press revealed not only her love for literature, but also her conviction that writing, art and culture serve as powerful instruments of empowerment and liberation.
“Comrade Jessie said last year that she was looking forward to writing books during her retirement,” revealed Ramaphosa.
“It is our ardent wish that the family will publish some of the work she has produced, so that future generations may draw inspiration from the record of this fine activist.”
As an organiser of activists, Duarte firmly believed that the people were their own liberators.
“She was never content to remain closeted in an office, to sit on a stage, or to direct the struggle from the comfort of a boardroom,” said Ramaphosa.
“She was always among the people, on the conference floor, in the community halls, in homes, on the streets.
“Wherever there was suffering, wherever families were mourning, where students were organising, you would find Comrade Jessie there, offering comfort, hope and encouragement.
“Comrades have remarked that whenever Cde Jessie entered a room where people were mourning she was able to comfort those in pain with her kind and encouraging words.”
The President described Duarte as gracious, compassionate and always kind.
“It was a matter of great distress to her that she felt that the movement to which she had dedicated her life had grown so distant from the people they were given the responsibility to serve,” Ramaphosa said.
“This is a deficiency that we are called upon to remedy.
“Drawing on her example, let us as leaders and activists humble ourselves before the people.
“We are called upon to restore the values of our Constitution and our movement.”
He said Duarte was courageous and yet had empathy for others.
The President also remembered Duarte as a unifier, who embodied politics that was neither divisive, mean, nor small.
“Her politics were empowering and unifying,” said Ramaphosa, adding: “She understood the immense power of a united people and a united movement.”
The President said at a time like this, “our nation needs more people of her courage and consciousness”.
He added: “Our nation calls out for people who are not afraid to confront wrongdoing and to speak hard truths.
“Our nation calls out for people who will, even in the face of severe resistance, champion the values of honesty, integrity, selflessness, and service.”
