Graca Simbine Machel was born on October 17, 1945 in Incadine,
Gaza, Mozambique. She was sent to a Methodist mission school at
age 6 and later went to university in Portugal on a mission
scholarship. There she mingled with students from other
Portuguese colonies and developed her liberation politics. Upon
returning to Mozambique in 1973, Graca joined FRELIMO. Though
she received military training, she worked with women and
children and taught school. In 1974, she was appointed Deputy
Director of the FRELIMO Secondary School at Bagamoyo. Following
independence in 1975, Graca became Minister of Education and
Culture and a member of FRELIMO's Central Committee. During her
tenure (she resigned in 1989), the percentage of children
enrolled in primary and secondary schools doubled. Primary
school enrolment increased from 40% of children in 1975 to over
90% of boys and 75% of girls by 1989. She married Samora Machel,
the first President of Mozambique, in 1975. Graca Machel and
Samora Machel Graca Machel was devastat