Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, South Africa 

For many people, it seems counter-intuitive to have a pacifist for a Deputy Defense Minister. 

For Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, it couldn’t make more sense.  Nozizwe’s pacifism, anchored by her Quaker faith, was forged during thirty years of mediating conflicts between warring factions.  Her experience demonstrates that the fight for social justice does not have to include violence.

Nozizwe first became politically active in the 1970s, amidst the oppressive conditions
of South Africa’s apartheid regime.  During those harsh days, she met her future husband, a South African Quaker who was an anti-apartheid activist — and who is white. Together, they turned to Christianity as a tool for resolving conflict, and as a sustaining resource in the face of adversity. As she explains, “I learned to understand that God is in everyone.  This was an important transformation for me.”  Soon after, Nozizwe became a pacifist.

Not withstanding her commitment to that doctrine, Nozizwe was jailed three times for her affiliation with the African National Congress, the last time spending one year in solitary confinement without a trial.

After her release, Nozizwe went on to mediate intra-black conflicts outside of Durban, and helped draft an historic, post-apartheid constitution for South Africa in 1991.  In both undertakings she emerged as an unwavering advocate for women, for their unique capacity in peacemaking and for their equal rights as citizens.  After serving
in Parliament for most of the 1990s, President Thabo Mbeki appointed her Deputy Minister of Defense in 1999.  In this role, Nozizwe adopted a holistic approach to security, including the establishment of an African Peace and Security Council,
AIDS prevention programs, and a greater role for women in conflict resolution. 

Until August 2007, Nozizwe served as South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Health, leading an effort to ensure that AIDS patients receive the best possible treatment.

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