Graça Machel has been recognised as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people
May 7, 2010 – Graça Machel, a renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, has been recognised as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
The list, which came out at the end of April names Machel, alongside former US President Bill Clinton and current US President Barack Obama, highlights those people that Time believes have the most influence to affect the world.
According to Time, “Graça Machel is a born freedom fighter. Long before she became one of the world’s most effective — and joyful — advocates for the rights of children, women and refugees, she was a schoolteacher in Mozambique seeking her country’s liberation from Portugal. In 1975, when it gained independence, she was named Minister for Education and Culture; she also married Samora Machel, who had become Mozambique’s first President. He died in a plane crash 11 years later, and in 1998 she wedded Nelson Mandela. She remains the sturdy shoulder that the South African leans on.”