Tshabalala was born near
Ladysmith in
Natal, South Africa, and was educated at the
Ohlange Institute,
Durban and the American Zulu Mission School at
Umzumbe in Natal. Tshabalala emigrated to the United States in 1912, where she studied at the
Hampton Institute in
Hampton, Virginia, the New Britain State Normal School in
New Britain, Connecticut, and the
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) in
Chicago, Illinois. and was exposed to
African-American women’s clubs. She was offered a teaching position at
Adams College, but chose instead to work as the administrator of eight schools in
Kleinfontein and focus on activism for African women. Tshabalala founded the Daughters of Africa (DOA) women's club in 1932, which drew upon African-American models of public engagement, organised educational initiatives, agricultural projects and small-scale enterprises and aimed to "promote sisterhood, to develop a community of mutual service, and to better society" as well as to "uplift the African race." Tshabalala wrote about club activities in the
Johannesburg-based newspaper
Bantu World and in the
isiZulu-English newspaper
Ilanga Lase Natal. In 1939, Tshabalala moved to the
Alexandra township in
Transvaal to establish a branch of the DOA there. By the 1940s, the DOA had established branches across the province of Natal and in the mining communities at
Witwatersrand. Members included activists
Nokukhanya Bhengu,
Bertha Mkhize,
Joyce Mpama and
Madie Hall Xuma. The group began to issue political demands, such as a rise in teachers salaries, and organised the 1943 Alexandra Bus Boycotts after an increase to fares that were prohibitive to black workers. Tshabalala died in Alexandra in the 1960s. She featured in South African politician
Hymen Meir Basner's memoir
Am I African? (1993) == References ==