Ottilie Grete Abrahams is a Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n activist, politician and educator.

Personal

Abrahams was born on 2 September 1937 in the Old Location

Old Location

The Old Location was an area segregated for Black residents of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was situated in the area of today's suburb Hochland Park....

 township

Township (South Africa)

In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 outside of Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

.

Activism

Abrahams became politically active while studying in high school and university in Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

; she joined the South West Africa

South West Africa

South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....

 Student Body in 1952 and later became active in the Cape Peninsula Students Union and the Non-European Unity Movement

Non-European Unity Movement

The 'Non-European Unity Movement' is a Trotskyist organisation formed in South Africa in 1947.-External Links:, by Baruch Hirson,SA History Online...

. She and other activists formed the Yu Chi Chan Club, a secret Maoist

Maoism

Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...

 organization. In 1985, Abrahams founded the Jakob Marengo Tutorial College in Katutura

Katutura

Katutura is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed into the suburb Hochland Park. Sam Nujoma Stadium, built in 2005, is located within Katutura...

, of which she is still principal.

Politics

Abrahams was active during in the independence movement with several political parties. Abrahams was part of SWAPO from 1960-1963. She, her husband and fellow activist, Kenneth Abrahams, fellow SWAPO dissidents Emil Appolus

Emil Appolus

Emil Appolus was a Namibian politician and businessperson. Living in Cape Town, Appolus was part of early discussions on Namibian independence. In 1957, Appolus became a founding member of the Ovamboland People's Congress, the forerunner to the current ruling party, SWAPO...

 and Andreas Shipanga

Andreas Shipanga

Andreas Zack Shipanga is a former Namibian politician. Imprisoned for two years following a fall-out with SWAPO leadership, Shipanga was arrested and held in detention in Zambia then Tanzania until 1978....

 formed SWAPO Democrats

SWAPO Democrats

The SWAPO Democrats was a political party formed from a break within the South West Africa People's Organization. Formed in Sweden on 10 June 1978, the party was led by former leading SWAPO members Andreas Shipanga , Kenneth Abrahams, Ottilie Abrahams , and Emil Appolus was formed in response to a...

 while in exile in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. However, she left SWAPO Democrats in 1980 and later joined the Namibia Independence Party

Namibia Independence Party

The Namibia Independence Party, initially known as National Independence Party was a political party in Namibia. In 1975, the NIP joined the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference. Later, the party joined the Namibia National Front....

, where she served as the Secretary General and Publicity and Information Secretary. The Namibia Independence Party was part of the Namibia National Front

Namibia National Front

The Namibia National Front was an alliance of moderate parties in Namibia. It was formed in 1977 as a merger of the Namibia National Convention and the Namibia National Council....

 coalition which won one seat in the 1989 election

Namibian parliamentary election, 1989

Parliamentary elections were held in Namibia between 7 and 11 November 1989. These elections were for the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which, upon independence in March 1990, became the National Assembly of Namibia.-Background:...

 to the Constitution

Constitution of Namibia

The Constitution of Namibia is the constitution of theRepublic of Namibia. Adopted in February 1990, a month prior to Namibia's independence from apartheid South Africa, it was written by an elected constituent assembly.-Preamble:...

-writing Constituent Assembly of Namibia.