New Netflix documentary reexamines Winnie Mandela's divisive legacy

"I wholeheartedly don't believe that a male comrade would've waited 27 years for a wife's return. The alleged affair feels like something they used against her in order to vilify her," says Momo Matsunyane, who directed a recent play in Johannesburg, *"The Cry of Winnie Mandela,"* which sought to rehabilitate her image. In recent years, a new generation of young South Africans like Matsunyane have begun to reassess Winnie's legacy from a feminist perspective.

In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 photo, Swati Dlamini-Mandela, left, and Zaziwe Mandela-Manaway, granddaughters of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, pose during an interview in New York. **Bebeto Matthews/AP** Bebeto Matthews/AP When she died in 2018, thousands mourned all night outside her home. There are now t-shirts with her face on them, street murals, and a major Johannesburg road named after her. "It's true to say that she may have been involved in some events that occurred that made her seem ruthless," Matsunyane says. But she adds it doesn't have to be a false dichotomy. "It's also true that she was fiercely resilient in the face of a greatly violent and inhumane system. She put her life and body on the line for the fight for freedom." Aside from her renewed status as a revolutionary icon, what are her granddaughters' most cherished memories of her? "God, there's so many," says Mandela-Manaway. "I mean, her cooking for us in the kitchen on Sunday lunches….giving me hugs, giving me advice,  talking to her about anything." Despite growing up in turbulent times, the sisters – now both in their late forties – weren't that politically aware until they were young adults. "We were kids, so we didn't realize that we were Nelson and Winnie's grandchildren," Mandela-Manaway says. "Not like...we knew that these were political figures who were known across the world. We had no idea." But much as their mother Zenani – Winnie and Nelson's first daughter – tried to normalize things for them, it was an unusual childhood. "And we literally were like, we only had each other, because no one wanted to be associated with us," the sisters say. "Being cool... Mandela became cool after." When she died, the hashtag #SheDidn'tDieSheMultiplied trended on South African social media. "There are a lot of young women who identify with the spirit of Mama Winnie," says theater director Matsunyane.