INTRODUCTION

This research project examines the political role played by women in the transformation of South Africa.
There were many female leaders that had different role that they were playing. Lilian Ngoyi one of the
leaders, who played a very important role, she was the first women elected to executive into the
committee of the South Africa Congress, and helped launch the federation of South Africa women. I
agree with the statement that women played role in the transformation of South Africa. In this research
assignment I will provide support by elaborating the roles played by women.

Lilian led 20 000 women in August 1956 to protest inclusion of women in pass laws controlling
the movement of blacks. The group held their protest at Union Buildings office of the prime
minister. Lilian was arrested and tried for treason but was later acquitted. In her words and
actions Lilian Ngoyi combined her identities as an African, women, mother and worker to
mobilize South African in the fight against apartheid Lilian was founding member of federation
of South Africa women (FEDSAW), a multi-racial organization that fought for equality of South
African women and the eradication of economic and social barrier.

The above paragraph is the starting point of my research assignment. From the 1970s onwards, violence
became more intense and the pacifism of the civil rights movement which included many women. This
research assignment shows what role did women play in the transformation of South Africa during
inequality of all South African women, lifting of economic and social barriers that hampered their
empowerment.

BACKGROUND

During the 1920s and 1930s, there were discriminatory policies in different parts of the world. These
were mostly in European countries like Britain and European colonies like South Africa. These
discriminatory policies were mostly on basis of race, and were often in favour of white people’s
interests. Black and white people were not allowed contact in different social domains. For instance in
schools, white people had well-resourced schools with better facilities, while Black people had
inadequate facilities like overcrowded schools with poor teaching and learning resources.

By 1910, South Africa( then Union of South Africa) was ruled by white People (descendants of white
European settlers).This government was exclusively for white people . They were the only ones who
participated in it, the only ones allowed to vote. Under their leadership segregation laws were
predominant and highly active. These segregation laws were implemented in spaces such as the work
place. In the job market white people were given first priority, they were given upper position and paid
higher salaries even if they had the same qualifications, experience and capabilities as Black people.
Black people worked under poor and unsafe conditions and were denied the rights to join or form trade
unions. In the army like being a soldier, black people were given support roles such as cooking and
cleaning.

The National Party’s victory in the 1948 elections was linked with the dismantlement of segregation in
South Africa during the second world war. This was because of the growth in industries, where Black
people were in demand for labour in industries. Black people filled with position that were left empty by
the white people. White were few in numbers and most white people already occupied better jobs
rather than physical manual labour. Large numbers of blacks then move to cities to fill these vacancies
and soon blacks became the majority of labour in cities.

The past-1948 period saw the African National Congress (ANC) abandoning is traditional reliance on
tactics of moderation such as petitions and deputation. In December 1949, with the support of the ANC
Youth league, a new leadership came to power in the ANC. Walter Sisulu was elected secretary general
and a number of Youth leaguers Oliver Tambo, Sisulu’s successor. The period 1950-1952 began with
commitment to militant Africa nationalism and civil disobedience. The period culminated in the
Defiance campaign, the largest scale non-violence resistance ever seen in South Africa and the first
campaign pursued jointly by all racial groups under the leadership of the ANC and the South African
Indian Congress (SAIC).

D.F Malan’s National Party(NP) government followed up its unexpected elections victory in 1948 with a
massive social restructuring programme, which included the enactment of new apartheid laws, as well
as the stricter application of existing discriminatory legislation such as the Pass Laws and amendment
to the Immorality Act. In 1951 the separate Representation of Voters Bill to rove Coloureds from the
common roll was enacted. The apartheid policy of the nationalist government was not simple a small-
scale social rearrangement and an extension of administration control. It was in fact a process which
sought to deny political representation and participation of Black people at a level of government which
affected all sector and l classes within the black communities. It was this that provided a context for the
mounting tide of popular democratic resistance to the apartheid state in the 1950s.

On 6 April 1952 while white South Africans celebrated the tercentenary of Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival at
the cape in1652 , the ANC and SAIC called Black South Africans to observe the day as a “ A National Day
Of Pledge and Prayer”. The majority of Black adults and school children boycotted many of festivities.

On that day mass rallies were held in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Durban, East Landon and
Cape Town as well as some rural areas. Dr J.S Moroka was the main speaker at the Johannesburg rally
chaired by Dr. Dadoo . In Port elizabeth Prof . Z.K Mattew spoke about militant African nationalism and
self-reliance He said “Only the African people themselves will ever rid themselves of political
subjugation, economic exploitation and social degradation”.

After the successes of 6 April the date for the start of the Defiance Campaign was set for 26 June 1952.
A “Day of Volunteers” on Sunday 22 June, preceded the opening of campaign. Volunteers signed the
Following pledge:

“I, the understand, Volunteer of the National Volunteer Corp, do hereby solemnly pledge
and bind myself to serve my country and my people in accordance with the directives of
the National Volunteer Corp and to participate fully and without reservations to the best
of my ability in the Campaign for the Defiance of unjust Laws. I shall obey the orders of
my leader under whom I shall be placed and strictly abide by the rules and regulations of
the National Volunteer Corps framed from time to time. It shall be my duty to keep
myself physically, mentally and morally fit.”

There were some 2 844 delegates present at the Congress of the people that gathered
at Kliptown on 25-26 June 1955. The C.O.P adopted the Freedom charter embodying the
hopes and aspirations of the Black people. The aim of the Congress was to publicise the
 freedom charter and thus awaken poliyical consciousness among blacks. One of the
ways suggested was the collection of a million signatures. The Freedom Charter is
significant document because it represents a milestone in the political movement of
blacks. Source : S.A.I.C Agenda Book, Conference, 19-21 October 1956, S.S Singh
Collections. Source: We, the people of South Africa , declare for all our country and
world to know:

#That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government that can justly
claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people;

That our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government
founded on injustice and inequality;

That our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal
rights and opportunities; that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people , can secure to
all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief.

Body of essay

“WATHINT’ABAFAZI

WATH’IMBOKODO:

YOU STRIKE A WOMEN YOU A ROCK

As part of the Anti-Pass Campaign, on August 9, 1956, 20 000 women of all races, some with babies on
their backs, from the cities and towns, from reserves and villages, took a petition addressed to South
Africa’s Prime Minister to the Union Buildings in Pretoria . Prime Minister strijdom was not in. The
petition demanded of him that the pass laws be abolished. The march was organised by the federation
of South African women (FEDSAW). The organisation famously challenged the common view that a
women’s place is in the kitchen arguing that a women’s place is everywhere, the Union Buildings housed
the office of the Prime minister they were approaching the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

1959-1960: Formation, Sharpeville and Banning, For many years there was tension inside the African
National Congress (ANC) between those with more moderate views and those with more 'Africanist
views' - An ideology that says that black people should determine their own future - Africa for the
Africans. It was first expressed by a Xhosa missionary, Tiyo Siga, in the 19th century.

Tension became more pronounced with the Freedom Charter, which was accepted by the ANC in 1955,
and the years of harassment that followed. The Africanists found the Freedom Charter too moderate,
and felt that they should focus more on black needs. In November 1985, at the Transvaal provincial
congress, some Africanists were excluded from the hall. Rather than cause confrontation, they decided
to break away, and in March 1959 the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) was formed. They elected Robert
Mangaliso Sobukwe as their first chairman and Potlako Leballo as secretary and decided to follow the
route of the Programme of Action and Defiance Campaign. Members of the PAC were also not happy
with the multi-racial character of the ANC. There was a lot of competition between the ANC and the PAC
as they both wanted support from the same group of people. In December 1959 the ANC planned an
anti-pass campaign for 31 March the following year, and the PAC decided to organise a similar campaign
before this date.

The anti-pass campaign turned out to be very important for the PAC, and for South African politics in
general. The date for the campaign was finalised on 18 March, and set for 21 March 1960. The weekend
was spent spreading pamphlets about the campaign and calling on people to leave their passes at home
and offer themselves for arrest at police stations. The protest was of a non-violent nature, but turned
violent in Sharpeville where police opened fire on a crowd of protestors, killing 69 and injuring 180. In
Langa, near Cape Town, the police also opened fire and killed two people. PAC member Philip Kgosana
led a protest march in Cape Town two days later.

The Sharpeville Incident resulted in international criticism and concern and increased suppression from
the National Party (NP) government. The negative thing for the PAC was that Sobukwe had also taken
part in the campaign, together with other leaders of the PAC, and they were all placed under arrest.
Many other leaders were arrested in the aftermath of the incident, not to be released for between two
and three years. Sobukwe was not released until 1969. A state of emergency was declared on 30 March
after other marches in Cape Town and Durban. As a result of the Sharpeville Incident both the PAC and
ANC were banned in April 1960.

During the 1970s, and particularly in the late 1970s after the Soweto uprising of 1976, there was
increasing pressure, both internal and international, on the apartheid state. The riots also played an
important role in the revival of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress
(PAC), both of which had been banned in 1960 and were operating underground. The government had
to cope with economic sanctions, military pressure from Cuba and the countries of the Eastern Bloc and
diplomatic estrangement from overseas.

In this heightened resistance against the state, women once again played an important role not only
within South Africa but as part of the banned ANC operating from outside the country's borders. Some,
such as Lindiwe Sisulu even joined the armed wing of the ANC. After her release from detention she
joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, underwent military training and later specialised in Intelligence.

The Black Consciousness Movement, led by Steve Biko, was a new source of resistance that had arisen in
the late 1960s among students who formed the student body the South African Students Organisation
(SASO). The movement increased in significance when the Black People's Convention (BPC) was
established in 1972. A number of women, such as Baleka Kgositsile, Winnie Mandela and Mamphela
Ramphele were active in both the Black Consciousness Movement and the ANC underground.
Mamphela Ramphele was also involved in child welfare and founded the Zanempilo Community Health
Centre near King William's Town. Later, after her banishment to rural Northern Transvaal, she set up the
Isutheng Community Health Programme.

A period of intense repression followed the Sharpeville Massacre and the declaration of the state of
emergency. With ANC and PAC banned, the possibilities of African trade union organisation weakened.
A period of ostensible political inactivity became inevitable.

On the surface, women turned towards activities to ease the burdens of the deprivations created by
apartheid. Thus, the African Self-Help Association, formed in 1964, established numerous day-care
centres and children’s feeding programmes.
However, during that time, ANC and PAC began to develop both an underground inside South Africa and
operations in exile, and the roots of what has become known as the Black Consciousness Movement
(BCM) developed inside South Africa. Thenjive Mtintso, a journalist, who was arrested and banned
several times and is now in exile, described what Black Consciousness means:

"Black Consciousness says to the black man ‘whatever you have been doing so far, you have been trying
to emulate whites. You have lost your values. You have been uprooted. Now go back to your roots and
from there you can emerge as a man in your own right. Black Consciousness goes on to black solidarity
and black power."

This is not to say that Black Consciousness is anti-white, but it does call for new strategies. Mtintso
discussed what this means:

"Whatever we do in this country, be it on the economic, social or political level, it has to be by blacks, for
blacks, period. It doesn’t matter how well-meaning white people may be … they can never deliver me
from the hands of the Nationalists… whatever they do, they must try to work within their own
community and concentrate on liberating their counterparts. I ’ll be doing the same thing in the black
community."

Helen Joseph, one of the crucial white leaders opposing apartheid for decades, believes that in the
present context, whites must be content with a supportive role and accept what some interpret as an
apparent rejection of their full participation. She said: "There isn ’t the same opportunity now. Don ’t
forget that the whites that identified themselves with the struggle of the people for justice were very
few." Others, such as Winnie Mandela, disagree that whites are rejected as participants in the liberation
struggle:

"Black Consciousness means to develop the awareness in people, to develop their pride, and it does not
confine itself to blacks only. Black people include all the oppressed peoples of this country whatever the
shade of their skin. All those who are prepared to honour what we are fighting for … are included in this
concept."

In December 1975, 210 delegates representing 41 organisations gathered in Durban to found the Black
Women’s Federation (BWF). BWF had similar roots to the Federation of South African Women which, as
has been described, was multiracial and very powerful until 1963 when most of the leaders were
banned and it ceased to exist as an effective organisation, although it was never dissolved. The 1975
organisation had the same objectives but allowed only black membership because it was based on
opposition to the legislation governing blacks.

BWF worked in both urban and rural areas, which its predecessor did not do. It attempted to teach
women to realise their own potential and to increase their awareness and level of education. It began
literacy, nutrition and health classes. It was starting to establish small cottage industries and was
preparing to work in the areas of housing, trade unions, rural development, and the legal disabilities of
black women. But the Government acted swiftly to crush BWF. Within a year, seven leaders had been
detained, and the entire organisation was banned in October 1977.
The Black Consciousness Movement served to increase the awareness of youth of the hated "Bantu
laws." During the June 1976 uprisings in Soweto, African youths put their lives on the line to protest
Bantu education, which their parents had been fighting against for more than two decades. At least 600
children were killed by the South African police when they demonstrated in the streets.

Sikose Mji, a member of the Black Consciousness Movement, described her participation in the
uprisings:

"One morning I decided I also had to participate, I also had a part to play —and I joined the crowd …
there had been already lots of killings, and the children were playing in the streets, when suddenly a
police van passed, a young seven-year-old child raised his fist and said to the police:
‘POWER’—whereupon the policeman got off the van and aimed at the child and shot at him directly …
When the police started to shoot that is when students picked up stones, hit back, and took dust-bin lids
to protect themselves…"

Nkosazana Dlamini, the former Vice-President of SASO, discussed in an interview the reaction of parents
and their role after the killings:

"Even initially, during the peaceful demonstrations, parents supported the pupils … But what really
thrust the parents into action was the brutal police killings. The police had always been ruthless with
peaceful demonstrators, but nobody expected the cold-blooded murder of young children. So besides
their solidarity with young people they were angered —and their hatred and rejection of the whole
system came to the surface. They were completely with the students in their militancy. Even the
workers’ strikes were very successful."

Soweto is now a symbolic rallying cry of South African blacks when they discuss resistance.

Just as Soweto has come to symbolise black resistance to "Bantu laws," so Crossroads has come to
symbolise resistance to the policy of forced population removals.

Crossroads is a so-called "squatter camp" in the Cape Town area. In 1977, when the Government
announced that the camp would be demolished and the 20,000 residents sent to the Transkei, the
women organised the Crossroads Women’s Movement. Contrary to the Government ’s propaganda that
Crossroads is a transient camp, the average length of time that heads of households have lived there is
18.2 years while that for spouses is 11.7 years. Even so, because of the very complicated and restrictive
legislation that keeps urban families apart, less than 10 per cent of the spouses are legally in Crossroads.
This, of course, serves to increase their vulnerability to the police. It is the women who risk most
through harassment and arrest by the police. But it is also the women who have no future outside
Crossroads, away from their husbands and families. For them, it is Crossroads or nothing.

The rallying cry of the women has been "we are not moving." In June 1978, more than 200 women
demonstrated at the Bantu Affairs Administration Board, where seven women expressed their
grievances to the officials. They were all called in by the police 10 days later. The police began sweeping
raids, arresting women and children in their homes and when they went to the wells for water. In July, a
multiracial crowd of between 4,000 and 5,000 people participated in a two and a half hour service for
the preservation of the camp, despite a police warning that the meeting was illegal. The police expanded
their raids in September: 800 people were arrested and three were shot, one of whom died. When the
first lot of bulldozers arrived, the women sat down. Three people were killed. The women continued to
protest. They sought and received international support.

Finally, in December 1978, the Government, by then under massive international pressure, announced
that it would not force the residents to leave the Cape Town area.

As in most societies, there is no doubt that the top leadership in organisations in southern Africa
opposing apartheid and racism has been held by men. However, especially in South Africa, women have
frequently been the ones to raise the primary issues and to organise and involve the people around
those issues.

In almost all cases, women were first brought into the struggle when they saw the attempt by the
Government to destroy their family structure and with it the basic fabric of their respective societies.
Thus, in South Africa, women reacted most vigorously to the introduction of passes in the 1950s and the
consequent restrictions on families; to the mass killings of their children two decades later in Soweto;
and to the attempt to destroy urban family life as epitomised by Crossroads.

In South Africa, women were very active in trade unions and in women ’s federations. Participation in
political parties was not meaningful since African voting rights were virtually non-existent. The Black
Consciousness Movement was a major activity centre in the 1970s.

That the women have had a significant impact in southern Africa is beyond question. Women have
participated in ever-increasing numbers both within their countries and in exile, always at risk to
themselves and to the groups they represent. The level of risk is reflected in the severity of government
repression against women. In South Africa, one can hardly think of a prominent organiser who has not
been detained, banned or imprisoned. By eliminating the leadership, the authorities destroyed the
Federation of South African Women. When this tactic did not work with the Black Women ’s Federation,
it banned the entire group.

In South Africa, the women won the early anti-pass campaign, they achieved a roll-back of bus fares and
apparently saved Crossroads. They did not end "Bantu education" and have had to accept passes even
though they withstood the final imposition for 11 years. However, in the light of all the odds against
them in those major campaigns, it would have to be concluded that, on balance, the women did make
an effective contribution to the struggle for liberation.

The women of southern Africa have increasingly attracted the attention and solidarity of women and
men internationally. The importance of solidarity has been expressed by Winnie Mandela:

"Over the past fifteen years, when I was confined and restricted. I got my inspiration from the very
knowledge… that the struggle is an international struggle for the dignity of man … just that knowledge
alone that we belong to a family of man in a society where we have been completely rejected by a
minority… this alone sustains you."

Mrs. Mandela also said:"It is only when all black groups join hands and speak with one voice that we
shall be a bargaining force which will decide its own destiny … We know what we want … We are not
asking for majority rule; it is our right, we shall have it at any cost. We are aware that the road before us
is uphill, but we shall fight to the bitter end for justice…
In 1955 a small group of white middle-class women who were predominantly English-speaking formed
an organization called The Women's Defence of the Constitution League. Founder members were Jean
Sinclair, Ruth Foley, Elizabeth McLaren, Tertia Pybus, Jean Bosazza and Helen Newton-Thompson
(among others). The organisation grew into an avenue for liberal women to oppose government policies
by means of marches, convoys, demonstrations and vigils. It came to be called the Black Sash because
the women wore black sashes over one shoulder as they stood to demonstrate against discriminatory
legislation. It was initially formed to protest against the Separate Representation of Voters Bill, a ploy by
the government to remove Coloureds from the common voters' roll. The women saw this as a flagrant
attack on the spirit of the constitution. To show their disapproval and bring this injustice into the public
eye they stood silently on pavements outside public buildings in the major cities, wearing their black
sashes. They attracted some support but also criticism from the white public. Supporters of the Congress
Alliance were heartened by this stand, but efforts to form links between the Black Sash and the FSAW
failed to materialize. Once the legislation on the Coloured vote had been passed the Black Sash
continued to demonstrate against legislation that infringed the rule of law.

The Black Sash was formed in 1955 and it began as a tea party of six women, Jean Sinclair, Ruth Foley,
Elizabeth McLaren, Tertia Pybus, Jean Bosazza and Helen Newton-Thompson. The women were opposed
to the Senate Bill which asked for a two thirds majority of both houses of parliament to remove
coloureds from the common voters role. The organisation grew into an avenue for liberal women to
oppose government policies by means of marches, convoys, demonstrations and vigils. This was the
founding of the Women’s Defence of the Consitution, the symbol of the organisation, a constitution
draped in a black sash, showed their mourning of the constitution. The media soon nicknamed the
organisation the “Black Sash” referring to the sash and also the black sashes that members draped over
their right shoulder during protest demonstrations.

Di Bishop of Port Elizabeth who joined the Black Sash in 1978 played a significant role in the activities of
the Black Sash. Bishop was elected into the Cape Provincial council in 1981, a position that she used as a
platform to challenge issues regarding apartheid. Together with Molly Blackburn she spent a lot of time
recruiting for the resistance movement. The Black Sash also was concerned with monitoring of pass law
courts as means of exposing the injustices that were involve in enforcing Pass Laws to Africans. In doing
this the women set up advice Offices which operated in various parts of the country, other problems
handled by these offices included employer/employee problems, work compensation.

The Sash, as it was sometimes known, worked with a number of organisations, including the United
Democratic Front (UDF), The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) and the End Conscription
Campaign. After the 1994 elections, the Black Sash shifted focus from being a protest organisation to
become a professional one, still upholding the same principles of making submissions to government in
shaping legislation and advising on welfare.