Young South Africans have named Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as Africa’s greatest female liberation fighter, according to previously unpublished findings from the Africa Youth Survey 2026.

Winnie Mandela was a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist She died on April 2, 2018 at the age of 81.

The findings,which marks the 70th anniversary of the historic 1956 Women’s March, showed that 51 per cent of respondents selected Winnie Mandela as the continent’s greatest female liberation fighter.

She recorded more than eight times the support of her nearest South African rivals, Albertina Sisulu and Helen Joseph, who polled six per cent and five per cent respectively.

Winnie Mandela also emerged as the highest-ranked woman when young South Africans were asked to identify up to three people who sacrificed the most for the anti-apartheid struggle.

She was chosen by 36 per cent of respondents, placing her behind Nelson Mandela, who scored 61 per cent, and just one percentage point behind Steve Biko, who recorded 37 per cent.

The survey further found that 89 per cent of young South Africans regard Winnie Mandela as one of the greatest icons of the anti-apartheid movement, while 81 per cent believe she sacrificed the most among the leaders of the liberation struggle.

The findings were released less than four months after the premiere of The Trials of Winnie Mandela, a seven-part documentary series that debuted on Netflix in April and subsequently featured among Netflix South Africa’s Top 10.

Ivor Ichikowitz, founder and commissioner of the Africa Youth Survey and executive producer of the documentary, said the findings represented the verdict of a generation born after apartheid.

“This is a verdict from the generation born after apartheid, and it is impossible to dismiss. Young South Africans see Winnie Mandela as a central protagonist in the liberation story, a woman who carried the struggle in public while paying an extraordinary private price. Their judgement is not uncritical, but it is clear: history diminished her contribution and they are now demanding a fuller account of who fought, who suffered and who was allowed to define the national memory.”

The research also showed that 84 per cent of respondents described Winnie Mandela as a fallen hero who was prepared to sacrifice laws and lives in pursuit of revolution and redress, while 76 per cent said her actions and legacy should be judged within the context of apartheid.

Ichikowitz said the younger generation was seeking a more complete understanding of the liberation struggle.

“It is not asking for a sanitised heroine. It is asking for an honest history which recognises the scale of Winnie Mandela’s sacrifice, the brutality of the system she confronted and the complexity of the choices that struggle imposed.”

The survey also highlighted concerns about the position of women in contemporary South Africa. Some 95 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about gender-based violence and femicide, while 93 per cent expressed concern that women’s rights were not adequately protected.

The Africa Youth Survey 2026, conducted by PSB Insights for the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, interviewed 4,901 young Africans aged 18 to 24 across 16 countries in March.

South Africa’s National Women’s Day commemorates the August 9, 1956 march in which more than 20,000 women protested against the extension of apartheid-era pass laws by marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria