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j 11 -i -n ri i ■P'f’PT^'n'fc Dsurtis or? South 22£3xly Coming from many places, large and smal .,- - h ld in Johannesburg,..to fights 150 women attended the firs* national Conference ot women, a for women’s rights and for full and equal citizenship for all.

The women had responded to an invitation sent^^^ZrTn^T^eT attend this Conference. The invitation was tne result othej g x * n ~ felt for a different type of woman's organisation - one that r,ouJ.ar

. a t a o all women, irrespective of race, colour or nationality^ ,tr»nirt>-en build, and brine together in joint activity the • vSois S S A t t a iA the liberatory movements, end otner 7/Cf 7 Cl* 3 OTgSJTLiScL >>—0-.1S ? ^ e.L ^-1 x-u3 ivnrkiiuz and oppressed peoples for bhe . nanticipate in the Struggles ox 0 ^ - equal citizen re-oval of class and race discrimination, and tor xUll cOia q T * 3 . egress the needs and aspirations of the housewives, Ksse-eamera, peasants and professional women of South Airica,

bring about the emancipation of women from the s p e c i a l disabilities suffered by them under laws, customs and conventions. “ J ^ r x v e a genuine South African democracy basea on compieteequality an friendship between men and women, and between each section.

Y/hile there are South Africa many ^ f ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ t L r o f ^ o ^ ^ t h a t brouit the ^ c ? L S ^ r t S S ^ ^ s e aims The ~ e of snohw^e:£ =

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. • j ~ -p-f*<3T*PTTf” terms Tds^cih discussi*^ the Beginning in 1952, South African women _ 1 - ■ ^ ,7 a 3 possible to call need for and -oossibilities of sucn an organisation, a..d by 43) the women together at a National Conference. Speaking in Zulu, Xosa, Scsutho,. ’maS~declaring that they had l o ^ ' a S S d ' S c f S event^^Wit^single-ninded^deterriination, the delegates resolved to establish the Federation of South African v;omen.

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- 2- This report is compiled from the minutes of that Conference, and containa extracts from the speeches, resolutions and the Charter adopted by the Conference. « The Headquarters of the F.S.A.W. is in Capetown, and all interested in working for the liberation of women in South Africa, should write to the Secretary, P.O. Box 2706, Cape T o w n . ______‘______OPE/V//VG OF TME COAJFF/2ENCE -/fay Ale**™/?** £pecJ

Mrs. Ida Mntwana in the Chair called on The Pass Laws, the Native Urban Areas Ray Alexander to open the Conference. Anendement Act with its vicious Section 10, Ray Alexander said: 'have been responsible for filling up gaols - On behalf of those women who helped nine out of ten gaols in South Africa are to prepare this Conference, I bid you all overcrowded. Farm gaols are built and welcome from the depths of my heart. filled with men whose lives are wasted away to provide cheap labour for the farmers. I greet you all, delegates and visi­ tors who made this a great meeting, which The Riotious Assemblies Act, the Supp­ will be of historical importance to our ression of Communism Act, the Criminal Laws Amendment Act, the Public Safety Act country and to our peoples' struggle for freedom. were introduced with the express aim of destroying the peoples' organisations and All of us’ are here because we want to killing their desire for freedom in the find solutions to the problems which mean country of their birth. so much to women: the winning o f equality, democratic rights for women and our men, By means of a great mass of laws, to which new ones are added every year, the the right of our children to be brought up in decent homes, schools, and with rulere of this country are trying desperately to prevent the advance of the people towards opportunities for a full life. full citizenship. These laws divide them Our sisters of Russia, Czechoslovakia, according to race; deny the majority free­ China and other countries have won freedom, dom of movement, residence, ownership and independence and happiness. They are en­ education, and seek to keep the people in joying full equality with men in all ignorance, poverty and submission, a source spheres of economic, political, cultural of cheap and unskilled labour. and social life. The people will not become submissive What is the position of the African, slaves. The reply is. to organise, men and Coloured and Indian women of this country? women, young and old, in a united fight They have no political rights, no right to against unjust laws, and for security, peace, elect or be elected on the governing bodies friendship and freedom. of the country. In these struggles our woman have T-'ie Government of our country rep­ played an important part. During the resents a minority of the people. It is Defiance Campaign, hundreds went to gaol, a government of Europeans only, and rep­ some of them expectant mothers, some with resents the interests of the landowners, their babies. Our women have come out on nine-owners and factory-owners. To main­ strike against the Coloured Voters' Bill, tain power it makes laws discriminating against the banning orders issued to Trade against the great majority of the people: Union leaders under the Suppression of the African, Indian and Coloured people. Communism Act. These struggles have produced many ■■■; leaders, have made us feel the need for an organisation to embrace still wider sections ox women and make them a great force in the G r i e f r e struggle for freedom. FZCe/yerJ -from -+o//a count} We have learned with great satisfaction, and it has inspired us, of the wonderful, WOMEN'S H3TERNATI0NAL DEMOCRATIC work done by the Women's International FEDERATION, Eerlin. Democratic Federation. It was formed in UNION OF FRENCH WOMEN, Paris. 19455 to organise and unite all women in defence cf their political, economic, legal GERMAN DEMOCRATIC LEAGUE, Berlin.- and social rights, and to ensure social FREDA MATTHEWS, Fort Hare, S. Africa. progress for complete equality between men and women in all spheres. AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, Mission Vale Branch All cx'er the world women in Europe, in India, in the Middle East, in America, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, Local Australia, China, Africa, everywhere - Women's Section, Alicedale, S.A. have formed Women's organisations affiliated REV. AMBROSE 0. SEHDME, Kimberley. to the W.I.D.F., which now represents 140,000,000 women. : WALTER SISULU, General Secretary, African National Congress. The women of the whole world, on whom :: falls the responsibility for the welfare | AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, Cape Town of their homes, are growing more and more Headquarters. aware of the need to- participate actively PHYLLIS ALTMAN, Cape Town. in the struggle for peace, national liber-...’* ation, and friendship of all people, irrea- ;■ AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, Western pective of race and colour. Areas Women's Region. In the last 10 years women in many NANCY DICK, Cape Town countries have won democratic rights. We NATAL PEACE COUNCIL. are all proud of the fact that Mrs. Pandit ' is the Fresident of the United Nations, which NATAL INDIAN YOUTH CONGRESS. shows the shallowness of race prejudice in IRENE EOKSJE. South Africa where Indian, Coloured and •? African women'do not have the right to : WOMEN OF THE BAETU PRESBYTERIAN vote or sit in Parliament. : CHURCH. I ELDAH MQNEMAMA, Fort Beaufort. Ray Alexander concluded }*r- opening- address with the stirring words of Beulah ; FOOD, CANNING & ALLIED WORKERS'UNION Richardson: . : .NATIONAL UNION OF LAUNDRY, CLEANING "Thrust forward in the fight for & DYEING WORKERS your rights! ; TRANSVAAL PEACE COUNCIL. Till the mountains of stone * echo your jubilee ./ ' ~; S.A. CONGRESS CF DEMOCRATS. till the triumph of your joy RAHIDE SINGH,' resounds in the sea ' 5 J.N. SINGH & PIRIAM BODISINGH, Durban. till every woman everywhere Many delegates brought greetings to knows what it is to be free!” r ' the Conference from their organisations That is the will of the women I MAYIBUYE AFRIKAI ■ -4- 1 l o A MNTWAMA SP b A/SS OC Tu£ poZ/TtOrt U/O m ZA/ /// g A W f C J ) I,It s . Bertha Mkize of Lurban tcok the Chair, and called on Miss Ida Mntwana, president of the African '“ational Congress (Transvaal) Women's Section, Miss Mntwana said:- • "We are gathered here today to lay the foundation for the future role that will "be played ~rj the women in the struggle for freedom. We must make women conscious that it cannot he successful without their active support. Our task is not an easy one, hut we have achieved a certain amount of success, and we are proud to see that a great number of women are playing an important part in the s truggle ■for liberation. "Gone are the days when the place of women was in the kitchen and looking after the children. Today, they are marching side by side with men in the road to freedom. The large attendance at this Conference is a clear demonstration of the ground we have already covered. We have come together, women of all races, to co-ordinate our efforts into one great army capable of shaping the future destiny of our children, and to consolidate the efforts of members of various national groups." Ida Mntwana spoke of the oppression and poverty brought about by the Government's apartheid policy, and how such Acts as the Bantu Education Act were becoming more and more the concern of women, "lie cannot sit down and fold our arms," she said, "when attempts are being made to hold cur progress and that of our children...If we do not fight now, it will be too late, and our children will curse us for our callousness." She went on to say:- 'We know that as women we have many problems which hold us back from taking part fully in the struggle, and it is for precisely that purpose that we have come to break dovm these problems. Let,us come out as a united force, let us take our place in the struggle for freedom. The success of this Congress will depend on what we are prepared to do outside this hall. ...The time will come when we will be proud of the acts of women. Let us united, let us go forward with courage and determination!"

INDUM WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA - /\ r e . p o r - J - / V < £in b ‘j M r s . M e c r . Speaking on the position of Trtdian Women in South Africa, Mrs. Fatima Meer of LurJan said: "Indian women in South Africa suffer from disabilities that arise from two sources: firstly, they suffer as non-Europeans, and secondly as members of a society which gives them very few rights. ..."The position of women in any society is only relative to the position of men. Where the men are free, the women are free too, and have the greatest amount of equality with men." Mrs. Meer described how Indian women first came to South Africa, mostly under the Indentured Labour System to work in the sugar fields of Natal, from I860 onwards. Like the men, they were spurred cn by false promises of full citizenship after their period of Indentured Labour had ended, but they soon found this was not to be. Together with the men, they came under the Masters and Servants Act, had curfews imposed on them, and their rights whittled away to nothing. Indian women were denied citizenship rights, were not given the vote, and provincial barriers were put up to prevent free travel from one Province to another. A Poll Tax imposed on Indian women and men amounted to half a year1 PO^/y-'O'V O f //^QtAfl/ U/O M r A/

At this stage, the Conference waa thrown open for discussion from the floor. The f_rst speaker was Henrietta Ostrich of the African Women's Association, Durban, who addressed the Conference in Zulu. She said she had listened carefully to the speeches, and felt that everything was in the power of women, who must demonstrate their might to Varwcerd. In Durban, women ~ not c m y warriors, but campaigners determined to win. She sooke about passes for '/.• -.-r., and now the women ot fi?.tal had so far resisted any threats to make them carry passes She urged women not to .be afraid. Among the delegates who- addressed the Conference were the following:

:'A tIOOSA (Transvaal Indian Congress): been prepared. The speaker read out the Inis delegate spoke of the inspiration to Call, which was to be ratified by the four fi-nt that would come from this Congress. organisations. j-n ether countries, women gave their lives ior freedom. In Prance a young girl of DORA TAMAIE (Guardian Co-operative League, J-J» R%vncnde Deane, had lain down on the Cape Town.): -■ ilway tracks to stop ammunition trains In the Cape, the Council had brought passes Lag to Indo-China. Women in Indonesia to the women in a crooked way. No husband ■■■ .7 in the streets to stop the armoured could bring his wife to the term without cars. a pass. The delegate spoke of the hard conditions of women in the Capa. In Retrc- t In South Africa, hundreds p f women had women had to pay -gd for a gallon of water. '-j- e to jail, shoulder to shoulder with the The mothers and children were hungry because Here, too, there was Ray Alexander, there was not enough money to buy food. >, as a young girl had given her youth to Mothers had to go to work and leave their '•••• -"use and sacrificed her whole life for children in the care of other children not ----- struggle. She concluded; "We will go much older - as a result many children fell lorward to freedom in our lifetimes" ill. She spoke of the work of the Guardian RICA HODGSON (S.A. Congress of Democrats, Savings Club, which had enrolled 10,000 Jchannesburg.): members in five years. 'Women must unite Spoke on the important role that women to get their own government I" could play in the fort looming Freedom Congress, the Congress of the Peoples, that GLADYS SMITH (Housewives' League, Cape To’. r., v/v.xld be held later this year. The four and S.A. C.P.O.)s or; misations - the African National Coloured women went through pain just as : -c'c Crrgress, the South African Indian Congress, as white women. She herself, through a ':*• r.; Couth African Congress of Democrats and life, could speak of the straggle and hun_-vi­ “;V- Couth African Coloured Peoples' Organ- and having no food for hungry children. - c i-T '.ion had met together and their National European women had the vote, but the nr.- - - "utives were preparing plans for the European women did not. The Coloured voters congress. Everyone in South Africa would be n-ljLft.i on to participate. Women would be in the Cape had diminished by 8,500, yet '• DcngSs said they must be taken off the v - sc­ .o : a to give their time to go round the roll because they would swamp the white v country organising, A call for freedom had 'He iiad condescended to offer four repress..r! _a_

T. u s V & tc. a 77V A 'CA /V Ia / £) / V 1 ■■ ~ ~ »rrr,„ V;3 in parliament to the .Coloureds cn a are to be forcibly removed from their hr arate roll. The Coloured people would with six or seven rooms, while thousands ■\ccep£ the sort cf representation that still lived in the Orlando shelters, where been sold to the African people. men had to hold a blanket in their teeth A reat responsibility rested cn the while they dressed to.obtain privacy, as all •aiders of women to fight all unjust laws, were in one rccm together; where the latrir. s .in must pledge themselves to unite more were open to the public, and children c^n see everything. ;~ely, to get the right to vote, to be icated, the right of freedom to speak. "The Union Buildings came, frcm the v rk of cur husbands who toil in the mines -ith JUT NC-QYI (African National Congress, their lamps and hammers. The gold is dug by 'indo.) 5 the black hand, but it goes to the whioe hand." delegate was applauded when she said t if it had net been for the husbands, Laws like the Native--Settlement of kept back many cf the women, we would Disputes Act affect all women, white as had many more delegates at this Con- well as black.’",We must fight together, ■tr.ee. The husbands talked of democracy, Europeans, Indians, Africans, Coloureds, . lid not practice it. She referred to the Industrial Ccnc- SISTER M.F. THOMPSON (African National Congress, Kimberley.): .•..ticn3 Act Amendment at present before "liament. According to this Act, women She said she could not see enough nurse, <■> 7* •'he. Trade Unions were no longer to be this Conference - there were four, but thx. rded as "employees." If they were not should be forty. She herself as a nurse ■Icyees, what were they? 7,her. the garm- Kimberley could not tolerate the con itia "s they worked on were sold in the shops, of employment for non-Europeans by f C" •Id you tell which was made by black cil, and now worked on her own, and ...id n ’is end which by. white hands? need fear the Government. At home, women did all the household ties, left their children with strangers HETTY BU.PREEZ (Garment 'Workers' Union, l\- . 2 Branch.): lie they went to work, and worked for -j _,yers, but when it came to wages, they The delegate congratulated the stand taken by re not "employees." Africans were.con- the African women and the Indian women, were no longer 'purdah lilies.' She regret" ..ered "barbarians." that more Coloured women were not here :n All people must 4ight together against fcrefront, for they had a bitter lesson t: rressive- laws, not only Africans. learn? too many of them were 'play whit: s, r and disregarded the s truggles of the Afric Some women made excuses that they aid not come forward because they were thinking their disabilities were not the j achers or nurses, and might lose their Before the Native Settlement of Dispute: /. -3, or could not fight cn religious the Coloureds had worked side by side ‘.’it'- .undo; but all mothers are human beings, African women in the clothing factori . , .•■ ..Mist be prepared to face death in the now the African women were told they _■ : ht for rights for our children, tie must a separate organisation. Already employ r.j ..la ourselves. The Almighty won't do it taken advantage of this, and African wcu. j r us. The history of 300 years had were being dismissed. The Government i:. ved this. slashing the people - whal are the mot; eiu going to do about it? She spoke of the struggle against the '.tern Areas .Removal Scheme, where people She said it was time that husbands vz:. - pared food for the women when they, the / • * ~Y (4 £ O f T <$OU Ttf ^ /AfOMft'f ( Cc.rt-(-t*i!4«c/J -.•in, cess from work, for the women are no longer their slaves. Non-European women den;- i-.‘ i put the right people in Parliament, to get nursing homes and creches. ;rcjcmen of Africa, let us promise to stand together, to go forward." •

TTY I.ACLEOD (Gape Factory Workers’ Committee, Cape Town), took over the chair. She. s=-i e Conference was the most inspiring gathering she had ever attended. The spirit of the legates gives us courage and determination to go forward side by side with cur men to n freedom in cur lifetime. S., FI0E2IC3 MATGMEIA (African National Congress, Port Elizabeth); Said she would like talk in English, but as she had never been to school, she must speak her own language . is was the first time she had been to such a gathering, and she wa3 happy to be there, t.xt would bring tears to Dr. Malan, because be did not want the women of South Africa be united, We would .be able to control our fathers' land, and to progress with our .iidren. In Port Elizabeth the women had such things as never before - passes. But the women V.--ken the passes and put them in a bag, and took then back to the Superintendent, sayings aka your rubbish." They would not carry passes. They would rather have gaol or death. . police raid the.children for passes, even children of 14 years. Children of other n:i.3 can sit peacefully,• but cur■children cannot." Tie are imprisoned without reason, br.t :-jhall fight. Now the women will have an organisation that will fight with the Afrierr ■.ional Congress against the Native Settement of Disputes Act and other Acts. "Cur land was taken from us without reason, and if we ask for it, we are Communists. ' ... Alexander must come to Parliament because she understands our difficulties. If she < ■ cs • z it in Parliament, then Malan should not sit. Hardship teaches us to be wise, and we ■ 11 fight till death. Malan should take a photo of the beautiful, determined African men. We cannot surrender. "I say to you: 'Have courage, vie will not retreat. We want t. to war with Malan, V.'e have no guns for our war, but we shall fight until he gives in.1" The delegate said that when their car broke dovm on the way to the Conference (they vived late), they cried, because they thought they would not get there, but God brou~!.t v:.: there. Have courage, women of all nationalities of . South Africa, she said. She con- ’iled by saying she had been asked by the chairman to speak for only three minutes, but o was a Defier, and defied even the chair! UISA MsiTVIANA (3 yanga Vigilance Association): The delegate spoke of the difficulties ir nga, which is a small place with great difficulties. The officials send papers i r formation about our husbands' income when they want to put up the rent, but they do a t k for our expenses. §Jie said she might find, when she gets back, that all her poss_sa­ ns have been taken out of the location, as had happened to others who fought the ..•rintendent. "It is good to be here, and see everyone ceoperating. Before, when we re oppressed, we did not co-operate." CILIA. ROSIER (S.A. Congress of Democrats, Cape Town.): Irrespective of skin or econ c \tus, women are workers, and must fight for the right to live as South African c i t i : - : . -n must lead the men in the fight against the Bantu Education Act, the Industrial filiation Amendment Act, the Pass Laws and the Population Registration Act, which Y ;cts Indian, Coloured and European men and women. We should be proud of the attsr '• this Conference - the next Conference of women will have five times the,attendance .f lay. Others who addressed the Conference at this stage were: WINIFRED SIQWANE (Women's '.ilan.ee Committee, Langa, Cape.) ELIZABETH MABTKING (African Food and G arming Worker:

Collection Number: AD1137

FEDERATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN 1954-1963

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