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Mawina Kouyate with Sekou Toure photograph.

Mawina Kouyate with Sekou Touré photograph

Mawina Kouyate the second coordinator to the All African Women’s Revolutionary Union was a force of strength and power within the All African People’s Revolutionary Party, the All African Women’s Revolutionary Union and throughout our worldwide community.

We share this brief introduction in Mawina’s honor and to honor the sister-youth of the future. It is our sisters who must realize their true potential and take their place in the March Forward to the total liberation and unification of our people and our nation, Africa.

Mawina was born March 31, 1941 in Boston Massachusetts and began organizing around tenants’ rights and welfare rights. Moved by the work of the AAPRP and Kwame Ture, she joined the AAPRP in the 1970s.

She was particularly drawn into the forefront of the African Revolution by the practical and definitive position taken by the Party in regard to the emancipation and equality of the woman as a key for the total liberation and unification of Africa under a scientific socialist government.

Thus, Mawina became one of the founding members of the women's wing of the Party, the All-African Women's Revolutionary Union, AAWRU in 1980. Four years later she became the Co-coordinator of the Union from 1984 to 1995, and when Central Committee expanded she continued to be a member until her transition in September 2002.

She was deeply committed to the African women raising their voices and standing tall to represent and build the African Revolution where she must stand front and center.

Aunty Mawina's (our name of affection for her) revolutionary work continued to heighten both qualitatively and quantitatively as she assisted in uniting the AAWRU with the women's wings of historically revolutionary Pan-Africanist parties - The PDG-RDA of Guinea Conakry led by President Ahmed Sekou Toure, PAIGC of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde led by revolutionary Amilcar Cabral, PANAFU of Sierra Leone and the Pan-African Women's Organization of Azania (South Africa).

In the international arena Aunty Mawina gave full political and financial support to the revolutionary people and government of Cuba and made several trips to Cuba facilitated by the Communist Party of Cuba. In 1999 she helped organize President Fidel Castro's visit to Harlem. Mawina also fully supported the People of Palestine and led several campaigns for a free Palestine. She fully supported the progressive people and government of the Libyan Jamahiriya and was one of the leading organizers of the various delegations led by the AAPRP and its sister/brother organizations that broke the ban for travel to Libya to protest the imperialist-engineered illegal sanctions against the revolutionary Libyan nation.

Mawina led demonstrations in New York when Amadou Diallo was murdered by New York police shot and killed Brother Diallo 45 times. She led demonstrations against the War in Iraq, the invasion of Grenada and other fronts of struggle against imperialism and Neo colonialism. Mawina loved justice and was willing to go to the ends of the earth and beyond for the liberation of Africa and her people.

She led our support of projects in Sierra Leone and the Gambia. She fired up the Women’s Union to travel to Guinea Bissau and unite with other African Women’s Wings to meet for the 20th anniversary of the AAWRU, in the midst of an attempted coup and faced bullets without missing a step towards advancing the unity and high energy of the African Liberation Movement.

Whether at the International Women’s Conference in Kenya, or as a member of the National Committee for the Million Man March, where she presented her major address on the stage, Aunty Mawina led by example. She was totally and deeply committed to her people and sacrificed all believing that only through hard work and consistent belief in our people, can we move forward ever!

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