Nokutela Dube
Nokutela Dube | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nokutela Mdima 1873 |
| Died | 25 January 1917 (aged 43–44) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Education | Inanda Seminary School |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, preacher |
| Known for | First South African woman to found a school |
| Spouse(s) | John Dube, m. 1894 |
Nokutela Dube (1873 – 25 January 1917) was the first South African woman to found a school. She cofounded the Ilanga lase Natal newspaper, Ohlange Institute and Natal Native Congress (the precursor to the South African Native National Congress) while she was married to John Langalibalele Dube. They both travelled to the United States, where Nokutela was described as a "woman of note". She died while estranged from her husband, who was then president of what would become the African National Congress. The school she co-founded was the place that Nelson Mandela chose as the location for his first ever vote in an election.
In 2017, Nokutela Dube was posthumously awarded South Africa's highest honour — the Order of the Golden Baobab — 100 years after her death.