Bertha Gxowa

Bertha Gxowa, OLS, (née Mashaba; 26 November 1934 - 19 November 2010) was an anti-apartheid and women's rights activist and trade unionist in South Africa.

Biography Gxowa was born in Germiston. She first attended the Thokoza Primary School in that locality before moving on to the Public Secondary School. She was sent to a commercial college, where she completed her shorthand and bookkeeping courses.

Career Gxowa started working as an office assistant in the South African Clothing Workers' Union where she engaged in wage negotiations and gathered factory subscriptions. She first signed up with ANC during the anti-Bantu education campaign.

Achievement Gxowa took part in the Defiance Campaign in 1952. She had five children and was married to Cecil Mntukanti Gxowa, who had died before her.