Josina Muthemba Machel’s parents sacrificed their livelihood for her to get a good education, with hopes for her to have a successful life. Those sacrifices ended up paying off in ways that would be felt across the entire country of Mozambique.
“The colonists wanted to deceive us with their teaching; they taught us only the history of Portugal.” Machel knew that her education was being tainted by colonizers, and by the age of 18 she turned down a scholarship to instead fight against Portuguese colonizers and change history.
In 1969, Machel became the head of the FRELIMO’s Department of Social Affairs at the age of 24. She was one of the first women to receive military training in the movement.
The warrior had a son and a husband, but she sacrificed her personal life to continue fighting and uplifting her people. Machel passed away in her early twenties, but her legacy lives on today with National Day of Women in Mozambique.
Machel saw how much her parents sacrificed for her to be successful in life, and in return, she sacrificed her teenage years and adulthood for her people’s freedom. No matter how small or big, there comes a time where we all have to make sacrifices for the good of our people. We are not free until all of us are free.