In the beginning stages, Lillian Ngoyi “went around addressing meetings and rallies all over the country; she called on women to be in the forefront of the struggle, in order to secure a better future for [their] children.” (Brooks, 206) Lillian Ngoyi joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1952, along with political pioneers Kate Mxaktho, Ida Mtwana and Charlotte Mxeke, who co-founded the Women’s League within the ANC. However, over time men and women resisted the imposition of passes as it severely restricted their freedom. News 24 / A crowd gathering for Women’s Day celebrations in Pretoria. By the middle of 1956 plans had been laid for the Pretoria march and the FSAW had written to request that JG Strijdom, the current prime minister, meet with their leaders so they could present their point of view. The demands laid out in the "Women`s Charter" were ultimately incorporated into the Freedom Charter, adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown on June 25-26, 1955. Women were tired of the government insisting that the pass laws were abolished, but it is the wives, mothers, and “women that know this is not true, for [their] husbands, [their] brothers, and [their] sons are still being arrested, thousands every day, under these very pass laws.” (ANC) During that time “the husband would come to the house and tell his wife, “I’m going to jail now.” And then the wife says, “Well, I’m going to jail too.” (Brooks, 207) Their formidable courage exhibited the absence of gender roles in the sense of dominating activist ideals. Reaction to the new system was swift and hostile. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/2042086/Selective_Silence_and_the_Shaping_of_Memory_in_Post-Apartheid_South_Africa_The_Case_of_the_Monument_to_the_Women_of_South_Africa [Accessed October 26, 2014]|Wells, Julia C. “Why Women Rebel: A Comparative Study of South African Women’s Resistance in Bloemfontein (1913) and Johannesburg (1958). It seeks to share the many stories of women’s social and political struggles in South Africa and focuses on these in the context of the 20th century. South African Historical Journal. By October 1906 the effects of enforcing the residential pass were being felt in Waaihoek. In an era when black women did not and –in some cases, could not have a voice, the woman of South Africa shouted, screamed, and yelled in order to get what they rightly deserved, freedom. Lilian Ngoyi did not stop her work in Africa, she soon realized and “recognized the potential influence that international support could have on the struggle against apartheid and the emancipation of black women.” (Grant) Lilian realized that she needed global support from women of diverse backgrounds in order to strengthen freedom and democracy in South Africa. However, the government moved to pass more laws forcing more people to carry passes. Without exception, those who participated in the event described it as a moving and emotional experience. National Women’s Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August, the day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. On 9 August 1956 one of the most historic events in the struggle for freedom and women’s rights in South Africa, took place right here in Pretoria. These passes make the road even narrower for us. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2636816 [Accessed October 29, 2014], Natives Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act, Southern Methodist University partnership project, http://www.africamediaonline.com/search/preview/43_1470, http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/womens-march-interviews, http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2583&t=ES, http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheid/a/WomensAntiPass.htm, http://womenshistorynetwork.org/blog/?p=498, http://www.academia.edu/2042086/Selective_Silence_and_the_Shaping_of_Memory_in_Post-Apartheid_South_Africa_The_Case_of_the_Monument_to_the_Women_of_South_Africa, History of Women’s struggle in South Africa, Southern Methodist University Partnership Project - 2014 submissions. The 1956 women¿s march in South Africa. In laying out what the pass laws meant to them, the women of South Africa further explained “that homes will be broken up when women are arrested under pass laws.” (ANC) With their frustrations high and their immense dedication, the women of South Africa promised that they “shall not rest until ALL pass laws and all forms of permits restricting our freedom have been abolished” and “shall not rest until we have won for our children their fundamental rights of freedom, justice, and security.” (ANC) The immense amount of passion and determination to make a change is what brought these women together to make history and show the important role of women engaging in activism. ‘Strijdom, you have tampered with the women, You have struck a rock.' On January 4, 1953, hundreds of African men and women assembled in the Langa township outside Cape Town to protest the impending application of the Native Laws Amendment Act. The request was refused. The original action was in protest at a law which forced black people to carry passbooks with them at all times. Estimates of the number of women delegates ranged from 10 000 to 20 000, with FSAW claiming that it was the biggest demonstration yet held. If non-Whites sought to enter the restricted areas destitute of their passes, they suffered imprisonment and worse. The only women who could live legally in the townships were the wives and unmarried daughters of the African men who were eligible for permanent residence. On 29 March 1913, women “pledged to refuse to carry passes any longer and expressed their willingness to endure imprisonment”. Anti-Apartheid struggle stalwart Sophie de Bruyn reflects on the current generation versus that of 1956 that marched to Pretoria. National Women’s Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August, the day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It is this event that we commemorate today, on 9 August. So runs the song composed to mark this historic occasion. Leading women are, front from left, Sophie Williams, Raheema Moosa, Helen Joseph and Lilian Ngoyi. The first national protest took place on October 27, 1955, when 2,000 women of all races marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria, planning to meet with the Cabinet ministers responsible for the administration of apartheid laws. The minister claimed that the issue women were raising was a problem of the Orange Free State. This is something that touches my heart. The 1956 Women’s March was a culmination of several years of defiance and activism. According to the terms of the Native Laws Amendment Act, women with Section 10(1)(a), (b), or (c) status were not compelled to carry permits. Reaction was swift and hostile. Women had once again shown that the stereotype of women as politically inept and immature, tied to the home, was outdated and inaccurate. This was the brainchild of Ray Simons who drew in others such as Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi and Amina Cachalia who formed the steering committee for the organisation. International Women's Day is not celebrated in South Africa. When the police attempted to keep them off the steps of the court a violent rebellion nearly broke out. Political leaders and some women who were on the 1956 march led the rally. Among the women were Mrs. A. S. Gabashane, Mrs. Kotsi and Katie Louw. “The Turbulent 1950s ”“ Women as Defiant Activist” Available at http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/womens-march-interviews [Accesssed 24 October 2014]|FEDSAW. Black women who had borne the brunt of the pass laws decided to act. A crowd of about 600 women headed by Mrs Molisapoli marched and chanted slogans towards the magistrates court where their comrades were being tried. When the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, there was already a foundation for pass system. Pretoria, South Africa – The march took place on 9 August 1956 with an estimated 20,000 women of all races descending on Pretoria. On 9 August the day was celebrated to showcase the 20,000 South African women who marched in 1956 with the mission of ending the oppressive laws of the then apartheid government. The Albertina Sisulu Centenary – Paying Tribute to the Heroic 1956 Marchers. The FSAW had come of age politically and could no longer be underrated as a recognised organisation – a remarkable achievement for a body that was barely 2 years old. Women’s day in South Africa is widely celebrated, as it continues to reflect on the bold steps taken in the iconic 1956 Women’s March. Pass laws were a means of trying to control South Africans of getting into the city, finding better work, and establishing themselves in the “white” part of town, which of course was desirable on account of employment opportunities and transportation. But greatest fear was that the protest would ignite countrywide protests by black people given that the mobilisation of the women collected five thousand signatures in protest against the passes that they had to carry. South Africa has a long history of women stepping into the fray in our complicated and painful political history. In order to enforce such drastic influx control measures, the Government needed a means of identifying women who had no legal right to remain in the Western Cape. FSAW was launched on 17 April 1954 in the Trades Hall in Johannesburg, and was the first attempt to establish a national, broad-based women's organisation. Now that you have touched the women, you have a struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder, you will be crushed. The feminist site acts as a remembrance, a memoir to the women of South Africa – their struggles their fights, but mostly their voice, without their voice there would be nothing to remember. The number of women was particularly high in Bloemfontein with four times higher than the previous month. Happy Women's Day. Just two years before the march, in 1954, the Federation of South African Women (FSAW) was formed out of women’s determination to resist oppression and exploitation. Women thoroughly comprehended the destruction and detrimental services that the pass laws served within the dynamics of the family setting. There cannot be change and reconstruction without leaders who are willing to run risks, making a lasting effect. The photograph “Women’s March”, taken by Peter Magubane the day of the march, clearly depicts the unification and strength of women across the country. Additionally, one of the most common images of this movement was reproduced in posters such as that shown below, entitled: “Now that you have touched the women, you have a struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder, you will be crushed.” The poster was re-created by Judy Seidman, an artist in the Medu Art Ensemble in Botswana, South Africa. The online archive, created in celebration of the 1956 Women’s March, honours some of those women. The online archive, created in celebration of the 1956 Women’s March, honours some of those women. Web. And as they had done the previous year, the Afrikaans press tried to give the impression that it was whites who had ‘run the show'. The Broader Significance of the 1956 Women’s March. Walker describes the impressive scene: Many of the African women wore traditional dress, others wore the Congress colours, green, black and gold; Indian women were clothed in white saris. The 1956 Women’s March in Pretoria, South Africa constitutes an especially noteworthy moment in women’s history. The preparation for the 1956 Women’s March was an incredibly stressful period, ... She also noted the serious absence of powerful and organised women’s structures in South Africa today. No further attempts were made to require permits or passes for African women until the 1950s. They filled the entire amphitheatre in the bow of the graceful Herbert Baker building. On 9 August 1956 over 20,000 women, of all races, marched through the streets of Pretoria to the Union Buildings to hand over a petition to JG Strijdom, South Africa's prime minister, over the introduction of the new pass laws and the Group Areas Act No 41 of 1950. She was one of the instrumental figures that led the women’s march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria against government pass laws in 1956. Without the force of frustrated and determined women, South Africa’s anti-apartheid resistance may not have been abolished without the assistance of women. South Africa’s Women’s Day August 9 celebrates the courage and legacy of the 20,000 South African women who marched in 1956 to demand the end of the oppressive pass … However, in the location of Waaihoek black people drew up a petition which they submitted to the Town Council complaining about the harshness of the laws passed to control them. In some cases, the women further established that “once you have touched the women, you are going to die” further establishing their prevalence in the means of the death of the pass laws (Brooks, 204). On 4 January 1953, hundreds of African men and women assembled in the Langa township to protest against the new laws. Pretoria, South Africa. Image Credit: Sisulu Family Archives (24 July 2018, Johannesburg) The 9 th of August 1956 marks a watershed moment in South Africa’s struggle for freedom and women’s rights in South Africa – the Womens March on Union Buildings. Foreign Africans were to be removed from the area altogether. In addition to protests and petitions, women organised themselves and formed the Orange Free State Native and Coloured Women’s Association in Bloemfontein. Protests started as early as 1950 when rumours of the new legislation were leaked in the press. The women of South Africa started to realize the tearing away of their family due to the pass laws: it was confining the man, inherent to embrace freedom in his own land, while also destroying the gentle aura, yet protective presence of the motherly woman. As the National Chairman of FSAW, Ngoyi questioned her audience as to why they “have heard of men shaking in their trousers, but who ever heard of a woman shaking in her skirt?” at the inaugural conference (Grant). On this day, South Africa remembers the role played by women in the political struggle against apartheid as well as the historic 1956 anti-pass march by thousands of South African women. This article was written by Idara Akpan and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project, Joseph, Helen, Side by Side (Zed Books Ltd, 1986), 1-20.|Magubane, Peter. Unified they stood in saying “once the women have made up their minds that they will do it, the women will organize and fight, and you will never stop them.” (Brooks, 225) The petition exemplified their frustration with the government.