The Rural Women's Movement

THE RURAL WOMEN'S MOVEMENT

HOLDING THE KNIFE O N THE SHARP EDGE by the Transvaal Rural Action Committee THE RURAL WOMEN'S MOVEMENT: HOLDING THE KNIFE ON THE SHARP SIDE

This document was compiled by Lydia Kompe, Janet Small and Beauty Mkhize of the Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC) for the National Land Committee. The material contained in the following pages comes from previously published material (eg. journal articles and newsletters) as well TRAC files of minutes, press cuttings and research interviews done during the course of our work since 1986.

JANUARY 1994

PHOTOGRAPHS Page 2, 27, 29 and 30 by Elmond Jiyane, page 17 by Graham Romanes, page 3 from Black Sash Archives and page 22 by Gideon Mendel. All other photographs by Gille de Vlieg CONTENTS

A Introduction...... 2

▲ How it began ...... 4

▲ Our understanding of the conditions women live under ...... 12

▲ Approaches to organising ...... 15

▲ Regionally: Developing leadership and an organisational profile ...... 18

▲ Local level: Building structures, flexing muscles ...... 21 Mogopa Moutse

▲ Coping with conflicts ...... 33

▲ Conclusions ...... 38

The Rural Women's Movement • 1 ▲ MamLydia Kompe (front right) with women from Moutse, September 1992 INTRODUCTION

/ / T he mother holds the knife on the sharp side," is the slogan of the Rural Women's Movement (RWM). It is a saying in the local language of seTswana and captures women's feelings about their lives. The Rural Women's Movement is a network of some 45 rural women's groups in the Northern provinces of South Africa. This publication tells gives the history of the Rural Women's Movement so far. We expect that it will have a long and proud future in the coming years. This account represents the story of the RWM in its first phase of life — from the old repressive regime through to the transition to democracy. The story of the Rural Women's Movement is intricately bound up with the Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC), a non-governmental organisation working in rural areas. TRAC was established in 1983 by the Black Sash in response to the de mand from rural black communities for assistance to resist forced re-

2 • The Rural Women's Movement movals and incorporations into bantustans (government created racial homelands). Its role was defined as a rural service organisation which provides legal, advocacy and organisation-building support for the strug gle of communities against these policies. After a few years of work it had become apparent that the sector of the community most often directly affected was the women. And yet they were almost always excluded from meetings or deliberations about strategy and struggle. As a women's organisation, the Black Sash was al ready sensitive to the gender question, so when employing a new fieldworker in 1986, an ability to work with rural women was given consider ation. TRAC employed Lydia Kompe, herself a rural woman and trade unionist, as a fieldworker with a specific brief of targeting rural women. When I left the trade unions in 1986, my idea was that I want ed to be involved in organising rural women, and also as sisting rural people with their problems which I fou n d to be very neglected. I only left because I wanted to go back to my life and roots, to rural women. This is the work I most love. [Lydia Kompe, 1990] During the latter part of the eighties, TRAC work was dominated by the crises of trying to prevent removals and in corporations. MamLydia managed to work with women during this pe riod, though it often meant doing extra field trips to spend time with women's groups. She prioritised building women's groups to articulate women's voices in community forums. In the 1990s, with the reform era, some of the struggles over land have been transformed into questions about land claims and development. The early 1990s are a transition pe riod with some aspects of old style crisis work, such as anti-bantustan struggles, combined with challenges of fighting for a just land reform policy and the adequate development of rural areas.

The Rural Women's Movement • 3 HOW IT BEGAN

e brought the women together to build unity. All the women have the same kind of problems. For example, the women from W Brits and Huhudi are fighting against forced removal. The people of Majnkaneng, Braklaagte and Bloedfontein are fighting because they don't want their areas to become part o f the 'homeland'. [Lydia Kompe quoted in Learn and Teach, Dec 1986] In 1986, MamLydia brought rural women together for the first time. These women came from Braklaagte, Majakaneng, Kwa Ngema, Mogopa, Mathopestad, Oukasie, Huhudi, Bloedfontein and Driefontein and all were facing crises around forced removals and incorporations. MamLydia observes that the contact between the women had a major im pact on the progress of their organisation. It gave solidarity to them in a shared struggle, encouraged the formation of women's groups and brought hope of success of the struggle of the women and of the commu nity. We came to this meeting to talk about our problems as women. Since Friday night we have talked about many things. We talked about removals and self-help projects. We want to make and sell things so that we can use the money to help detainees in our area. We learnt from this meeting that if women are united, then there is nothing to stop us. [Ellen Khoza and Johanna Tele of Brits quoted in Learn and Teach]

We have won our fight against the removals in Driefontein. We cam e to this meeting to help other women who are still having problems. We want them to know that women can fight their own strug gles and win. After the death of Mr Mkhize in ▲ MamLydia Kompe Driefontein, women took

4 • The Rural Women's Movement "WE, THE WOMEN SAY..."

We, the women of Mothopestad, Huhudi, Brits, Broklaogte, Bloedfontein, Matjakeneng, Mogopa, Rooigrond, Driefontein and Kwa Ngema, gathered here at Mothopestad on 22 November 1986 soy:

W e demand an end to all forced removals Our sisters from Brits are under doily threats from the bulldozers. Let them stay where they ore in peace. Oukasie has been their home for over half a century. They have a right to remain. We be lieve that oil communities under threat of removal have a right to remain.

W e demand an end to the stealing of our citizenship Many of us, especially those from Bloedfontein, Broklaogte and Matjakaneng are in danger of losing our citizenship to Bophuthatswona. We are South Africans, we refuse to give up our citizenship. Mongope is a stranger to all of us. We want him to leave us and our land alone. We have seen the suffering of people in Bophuthatswona. We do not want to live in fear of that terrible place.

W e demand help for all victims of forced removals We wept when we heard the terrible stories of how our sisters in Mogopa and Rooigrond hove suf fered. They have suffered the pain of forced removal. They were forced to leave their peaceful homes. Now they are so very poor, living as refugees and squatters. Let them go home now! Let them rebuild their homes and their lives. We demand the same for all victims of forced removals all over our country.

We demand an end to detentions and for the police and vigilantes to leave us in peace Some of us have been detained, others have hod our children taken from us by the police. In Huhudi and Brits we have been attacked by the vigilantes. People have been killed and homes destroyed. We demand that we mothers be left to live in peace with our children. We wont this, not only for our selves, but for all South Africans.

Lastly, some of us from Driefontein, Kwa Ngema and Mothopestad soy that we hove won our strug gles. Yet, this does not mean that we can now sit back. We connot live in peace until all communities, oil over the country, ore free from removal, free from losing their citizenship, free from detention, and free from the attacks of vigilantes ond police.

We women pledge ourselves to stand together in unity with our communities and other communities who are struggling against forced removals and other evils. We will organise all of our women to do the same. In this way we believe we will move nearer to a free and equal South Africa.

[LEARN AND TEACH]

The Rural Women's Movement • 5 ▲ Beauty Mkhize

over the fight and won. The only weapon we used was unity. [Driefontein women, Learn and Teach] The women drew up a resolution from this meeting (right). The reso lution made the following demands: • end all forced removals • end the stealing of our citizenship • help for all victims of forced removal • end detentions and the police and vigilantes must leave us in peace. These reflect the terrible conflicts that the communities were locked in at that time. The women, as the majority of permanent residents, were most deeply affected by these policies. In one section of the document, the women say: "We demand that we mothers be left in peace with our children. We want this, not only for ourselves, but for all South Africans." Their conclusion reflects their consciousness as women fighting for their lives, the welfare of their children and the survival of their commu nities. We cannot live in peace until all communities, all over the country, are free from removal, free from loosing their citizenship, free from detention, and free from the attacks of vigilantes and police. We women pledge ourselves to stand together in unity with our commu nities and other communities who are struggling against forced removals and other evils. We will organise all of our women to do the same. In this way we believe we will move nearer to a free and equal South Africa. [Adopted 22 November 1986]

6 • The Rural Women's Movement Due to staff shortages and crises, MamLydia only convened a regional meeting again in 1990. The political climate of the period 1986 until 1990 was very repressive, with communities caught in serious conflict with government authorities. Meetings of any kind were difficult to organise and the priorities of TRAC were to defend human rights abuses taking place in the region. At the second meeting of women MamLydia organised in April 1990 in Majakaneng, a decision to formalise the loose network of women's groups was made. This time there were 16 women's groups from across the Transvaal, organised by MamLydia in the course of general TRAC work with communities. The women related tine success and failures of the struggles they had been involved in their communities. The issues they discussed were of a general political nature — calling for the end of the bantustan system, the closure of hostels which they felt had torn apart families and right to equal pay for equal work, regardless of race or sex. Out of this meeting, the women decided to form the Rural Women's Movement (RWM) to provide a forum for rural women to come together and make their voices heard. We were drawn together because of our shared history of suffering, be cause of apartheid land policies, forced removals and incorporations. [Beauty Mkhize, chairperson of the RWM, September 1992] A resolution to form a structure with the following aims was made: We are resolved to fight with all the means at our disposal the evil system of apartheid which we perceive to at this point our history as being the main cause of our problems. It divides people and communities along racial and ethnic lines and weakens us. It has disrupted our family life and deprived us economically. In particular, we categorically reject and will fight against: • The bantustan system which has caused untold misery with its forced removals, incorporations and evictions of our people from their ancestral rightly held land; • Bantu Education which is inferior. We demand equal education and equal facilities for all South Africans; • discrimination at work — we demand equal pay for equal work without regard to race or sex; • freedom of residence — the hostel system has torn apart our families. We demand its abolition. Accommodation on mines and other places of work must have family accommodation. We therefore demand: • the right to acquire land freely in South Africa. The Group Areas, Land and Squatting Acts must go;

The Rural Women's Movement • 7 • that women be equally represented with men in a future elected South African parliament; • that small businesses be protected from intimidation by large businesses and monopolies. [from TRAC press release at launch in April 1990] At follow-up meetings of the RWM, the most common theme was how women could improve the living conditions in their communities. Again and again when we met with women from the Northern, Western or Eastern Transvaal, problems came up about poor water supply, no ac cess to land, inadequate health services, education and child care. When we explored these problem areas in small group discussions in successive workshops, deeper issues began to emerge. For example, women in a Northern Transvaal workshop took issue with the power of chiefs because they were denied land for a gardening project. Arising from these discussions, women came up with far-reach ing demands about necessary changes to the tribal system: Women shouldn't have to go through members of the royal family to get access to the chief because these people do not understand women's prob lems. Women want to be able to send their own representatives to speak directly to the kgotla [traditional community decision-making body which excludes women] and the chief. And... Recognised women's committees should be part of the land distribution mechanism. Currently, men are in charge of land distribution and women are discriminated against. Women must therefore be part of the kgotla. They must also be under the tree (ie kgotla tree) taking decisions with men. [Moutse meeting, May 1991] When groups discussed ways of strengthening their organisation at a meeting in October 1990, they confronted the issue of power relations in the household directly. Women in the home must persuade their husbands to let them participate in women's structures. Women have a very important role in making or ganisations strong and helping to resolve village level problems... It is well-known that men get their dignity from their wives — this should be a two-way process. Women should also be given recognition as impor tant people in the community. Women demand their dignity back — it was removed by their own husbands. [Beauty Mkhize, Meeting of RWM, October 1990] When the RWM executive drew up a draft constitution for the organi sation in June 1991, the consciousness of the various forms of oppression that women experience was very visible. They were asserting their right

8 • The Rural Women's Movement RURAL WOMEN'S MOVEMENT CONSTITUTION

The constitution consists of aims, composition/constituency, meetings ond executive structure ond du ties.

PREAMBLE Rural women from communities in N. Cape ond Transvaal came together because of shared history of suffering because of Apartheid, land policies, forced removals and incorporation.

AIMS ]. Create forums for rural women to unite against oppression. 2. Demand that women have equal rights to land. 3. Encourage women to be self-reliant, independent ond creative. 4. Women should hove a say in political matters at a notional level and in our communities. 5. Women should hove access to literacy, adult education ond skills training to improve their lives. 6. Rural women need resources to develop their areas which would improve their daily lives. 7. Bring rural ond urban women closer, and promote respect of rural women by their urban sisters. 8. Work for the abolition of child labour ond the right of children on farms to schooling. 9. Take up the issues around women's legal status and social welfare (including matters such as pen sions, disability grants, maintenance and women's rights over child bearing).

COMPOSITION/CONSTITUENCY 1. The Rural Women's Movement is open to all oppressed rural women who wish to join our struggle for women's rights. 2. The Rural Women's Movement must be able to reach all women in rural areas, and particularly women living on white farms.

MEETINGS 1. There should be one general regional meeting every year. Sub-regions should meet twice a year. 2. The executive should meet at least 3 times a year. 3. All delegates attending general meetings from groups that are part of the RWM will have voting powers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE JO

The Rural Women's Movement • 9 prrllTIIIC CTDllfTHBP

ton co-opt additional members.

EXECUTIVE DUTIES

to a political voice as a marginal sector — as black, rural women — in the political and domestic arenas. The constitution, which was adopted at the first Annual General Meeting, outlines the following aims: • to create forums for rural women to unite against oppression; • to demand that women have equal rights to land; • to encourage women to be self-reliant, independent and creative; • to achieve a situation where women have a say in political matters at a national level and in our communities; • to help women have access to literacy, adult education and training to improve their lives; • to acquire resources to develop rural areas which would improve women's daily lives; • provide opportunities to bring rural and urban women closer. At the first AGM of the Rural Women's Movement, held in November 1991 in Sekhukhuneland, there were 120 women present from 26 com munities in the Transvaal and Northern Cape. The structure of the RWM was outlined in the constitution. An Executive of 12 women was elected for a three year term of office. Sub-regions comprising women's groups in a defined geographical area would be the foundation of the network. These were developed as a way of facilitating greater contact between women's groups in a manageable form. There are now seven sub-region al groups - Northern Cape (centred around Vryburg); Far Western Transvaal (centred around Zeerust); Western Transvaal (centred around Ventersdorp); Central Transvaal (centred around Brits); Moutse (near

20 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ RWM structures: (1) N CAPE: Huhudi, Madibogopme, Taung; (2) FAR W TVL: Braklaagte, Leeuwfontem, Ikageng; (3) W TVL: Mogopa, Goedgevonden, Mathopestad, Koster, Welverdiend; (4) CENTRAL TVL Oukasie, Modderspruit, Hartebeesfontine, Majakaneng; (5) Moutse, Gabokwane, Stomp, Ntmne, Marapong, Mpeleng, Gamatlala, Magakadimeng, Naganeng, Stoplite, Moteti; (6) N TVL: Ragwadi, Motwaneng, Sereteng-Mabitsi, Ditshweunge; (7) SE TVL: KwaNgema, Driefontein, Daggakraal, Rossplaas, lswepe, Panbult, Piet Retief, Kempsite, some farm groups

Groblersdal); Northern Transvaal (centred around Marble Hall); South Eastern Transvaal (centred around Piet Retief)- A second AGM was held in Krugersdorp in November 1992. The growth in the RWM was reflected in the attendance of more than 200 women representing 31 women's groups. Demands for a new South Africa collected for the Women's National Coalition were collated at this meeting. The third AGM took place in November 1993 in Soweto. There were 41 women's groups present and the issues they discussed reflected the direction of the movement. There was a presentation on AIDS (on the re quest of the delegates), a discussion about how the new South African constitution and Bill of Rights affects women and an open session to share ideas about income generating projects.

The Rural Women's Movement *22 OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONDITIONS WOMEN LIVE UNDER

ural women are engaged in a daily battle for survival. Upon her marriage, a woman becomes responsible for tine well-being of her R husband, his family, any offspring and the household, which may or may not involve agriculture. In the majority of cases, the husband works in a city. He will be absent at minimum all weekdays and often for months at a time. The normal division of labour in a household crumbles and the wife must take over responsibility for all aspects of the home. Women spend most of their daily time collecting water and wood. These two tasks often consume a large portion of daylight hours. Neither task is productive. They essentially form part of the reproductive func tion of maintaining the family. Because the water supply in rural areas is often inadequate, women may spend hours each day waiting in queues for a single, slow-dripping tap to fill their tin drum, or wait patiently for the wind to drive the windmill pump for the borehole. To collect fuel, women have to rise early in order to make a return trip to the nearest point before it gets too hot. With the dwindling wood sup ply, they are often forced to collect cow dung to be dried for burning. This is my everyday work: to go long distances to fetch water and another distance to fetch wood. By the time you arrive home it's late. I start to cook supper. I always eat supper after 9pm never at 6 or 7 o'clock. My children eat their supper in the morning because they sleep before it is ready at night. When my children come back from school they find that I

12 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ Cooking for themselves - RWM launch Majakaneng, 1990

have already made my second trip from where we fetch water. I find life very difficult here. [Mrs Mohlamonyane of Moutse, interviewed November 1990] With the absence of husbands, and children attending school, women are often burdened with the additional task of tending the family's cattle. This means she will have to take cattle out to grazing lands some distance from the homestead often with a baby on her back. She will have to act as 'shepherd' until her children come home from school around 2pm. Only then will she be able to continue with her other domestic tasks. This work is isolating. It has no impact on the general welfare of the village or even other families. The value placed on such activities is low despite the fact they are life-maintaining tasks. Thus rural women's main daily activities have low social value and do not enhance their self-es teem or social status. In the culture of many rural communities, women are not raised to ex pect mutual support. In fact, where witchcraft is still common, women particularly are vulnerable to superstition. This belief in a malevolent power generates mistrust between individuals. Women are afraid to ex pose their weaknesses to each other for fear of being bewitched. So, for

The Rural Women's Movement • 13 ▲ Sharing basket-weaving skills at RWM AGM, November 1991. Women are desperate to find income-generating activities example, women are secretive about their reproductive capacity. There is a taboo on discussions or even comment on women's pregnancy. Information like the due date of the baby is a closely guarded secret. In the village of Semanyane in Lebowa, MamLydia relates the story of a woman who gave birth on her own because she was too fearful of calling neighbours to assist her. Despite this mistrust, there are organic, exclusively female forms of organisation in most rural communities. These take the form of stokvels or burial societies or manyanos [church women's clubs]. The stokvels provide invaluable support for bereaved women in the form of cash from joint savings and other members' labour. Manyanos offer spiritual sup port in the confines of a male-dominated religious experience. Neither of these groups challenges the power relations present in women's lives. The picture we see is of a woman with huge responsibility for main taining the household, little status in the community, very physically de manding daily survival tasks and a weak social and emotional support network. Despite these burdens, women are very receptive to organisa tion if approached in the right way.

24 • The Rural Women's Movement APPROACHES TO ORGANISING

he biggest barrier to organising rural women is their feeling of iso lation from each other and the mutual suspicion. The dominant T ethos is self-preservation and fear of disclosure. Women experi ence great shame about the problems in their lives — the fact that their husband has a girlfriend in Johannesburg, their teenage daughter is preg nant or that they can't afford to pay school fees this month. One of the keys to building organisa tion is for women to see the common basis of their problems. Much of the rhetoric of political organisation has centred on appealing to people's common experi ence of oppression to build solidarity. With rural women, in our experience, there needs to be an earlier step — to help people see the shared nature of the problems in their lives and not to see their difficulties as a unique set of prob lems due to individual weaknesses. Rural women are gen erally shy and withdrawn in their demeanour in meetings or when encoun tering strangers. Ideally, an organiser should relate to women from her own experiences. MamLydia A Veteran rural organiser MaTshepo Khumbane shows RWM has been able to relate to conference delegates how to establish a trenched vegetable garden

The Rural Women's Movement • 15 ▲ MamLydia at workshop in Sekhukhuneland encouraging women to participate

women by drawing on her own roots. She finds that the easiest way to win the confidence of the women is to speak openly about her experience as a rural wife. This begins to break down the culture of silence on do mestic and personal issues. MamLydia tries to make the women feel that there is no experience that she herself has not had some taste of, so noth ing will shock or dismay her. When 1 talk about rural women I do not talk in isolation from myself. 1 have got my own rural home in a rural area, here (in Johannesburg) I am working as a migrant. [Lydia Kompe, in Land Update, September 1992] MamLydia described the way she went about organising women ini tially in an interview in 1990. "In all the areas, when we started working there, women were not participating in any way. TRAC formed women's groups in the areas (eg. Mathopestad). I encouraged them to collect money that can be used in crisis, for instance, when their children are shot and need to be taken to the hospital. They formed stokvels. But they still work separately. It is interesting to note that men do approach them to borrow money when there is a crisis. In Braklaagte as well, when we started working there, no women's structure existed. They col lected R2 000 which they collected by getting 20c a week per member. They then have stokvels where they use the money to buy food which they resell at a profit. In 1989, the women's money was used to bail out the people arrested during a Bophuthatswanan crackdown. This cash

16 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ Women attending a training workshop at MamBeauty's home in Driefontein, October 1992 empowers women's position in those communities. The money is also a psychological boost — the women feel more powerful. They realise that if the women hadn't come together, for instance, those youths couldn't have been bailed out." "The South Eastern Transvaal is very traditional. A place like Driefontein has been shaken by the events around the forced removal threat. It was a serious threat, and with the death of Saul Mkhize, the community was fundamentally shaken. The men saw that they couldn't possibly win this struggle without working with the women. Also, Beauty Mkhize (Saul's wife) grew up in Johannesburg — she did not car ry with her the burden of rural female inferiority which so many women have. She had a lot of influence on the local women. TRAC didn't initi ate the structure, it developed organically." MamBeauty Mkhize has been employed by TRAC as a fieldworker since September 1992. She has her own experiences and ways of organis ing which will have their own impact on the areas where she works. MamBeauty's organising approach, lessons and experiences must still be shared with others. The South Eastern Transvaal sub-region of the RWM has grown enor mously since she started working full-time an.d MamBeauty has begun organising new terrain: women living on white farms. This experience and special conditions on the farms will have to be documented in the near future.

The Rural Women's Movement • 17 REGIONALLY: DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP AND AN ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE

ince its founding in 1990, the Rural Women's Movement has grown in membership from an initial 16 groups in 1990 to 41 S groups in 1993. It has also developed it's structure so that there are now 7 sub-regions. The women's groups which formed the core of the RWM were those organised by MamLydia through her work against forced removals. There was no conscious strategy of recruiting groups, but since its inception, the RWM has picked up an enormous amount of support from rural areas, mainly by word of mouth and personal con tacts of organised women. Groups from Lebowa and Bophuthatswana have joined as well as women living on white farms in the SE Transvaal. The majority of the groups which now belong to the RWM do not have a relationship with TRAC around land issues. The sub-regions differ in size and strength. At the time of writing, the South Eastern Transvaal, Northern Cape and Moutse sub-regions are the strongest. The varying strengths of the areas depends largely on the amount of organising input either by TRAC or strong local organisers. The idea of training sub-regional organisers is being discussed as one way of strengthening the RWM. TRAC assists with the organisation of one meeting per sub-region a year, but the aim of the RWM is that these structures should operate independently in the future. The operation of one sub-region, Moutse is described later. The Moutse Co-ordinating Committee is a model which other sub-regions may choose to replicate as an effective way of functioning.

18 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ The RWM executive elected in November 1993. Back: Meisie Keoagile, Angelina Sechotlho, Mitta Mockoane, Mocheko Ntsweng, Martha Matlala, Elizabeth Mathope, Nenki Mothlare; Front: Elizabeth Bogatsu, Hilda Naioane, Poppy Ngema, Yvonne Padi, Lesedi Moeketsi, Beauty Mkhize, Julia Matlala

The first executive of the RWM ended its three year term of office at the AGM held in November 1993. These women were exposed to train ing (by various other organisations such as Kusumo and the Grail Women's Leadership Training Project) and have gained greater skills and confidence. Many of them have represented the RWM in public forums and meetings and have dealt with the press. They have attended confer ences of various kinds where they have presented the perspective of rural women. With the country in process of change, they have been much sought after to give the opinions of rural women since there seem to be very few organisations which represent rural women. They have com municated with government ministers, the African National Congress (ANC), funding agencies, foreign visitors, foreign journalists as well as the traditional leaders and other women's groups in South Africa. In meetings the women show a wide ranging concern with issues at a local level which affect their daily lives as well as questions about a fu ture dispensation. They have an acute consciousness of the need for women to assert themselves now to assure some changes to the system at

The Rural Women's Movement • 19 a national level. The discussion at the February 1993 executive meeting about their objectives for the year reflect this developed consciousness. • We want a logo for the RWM. • We need literacy and skills training. • We must think how we as the RWM can stand on our own. • Women leadership must be recognised in kgotlas. • We want to meet with the government — we want our voices heard in the women's charter. • Oppressive traditions must be changed. • The gap between rural and urban women must be bridged. • Children must have access to non-racial schools in town (Apartheid still exists). • We need the facilities that urban people have. • Single or married women must have access to land. • We need a centre/venue in our areas for us to come together. • We need training for the projects we want to start. • We need to strengthen the sub-regions and consolidate the RWM. • Women should be repre sented in negotiations. • Rural women must be elected to government. • Creches should be supported by the government in the same way as schools. • A new government must address physical violence against women in the home and outside. • We need to learn about family planning and AIDS. • We want to get rid of trunk call telephones and have automatic telephone exchanges. The Rural Women's Movement is a unique formation which is a prod uct of the combined consciousness of women's experience of political and personal struggles. It is still very dependent on the support of TRAC to physically maintain the network but the urge to organise and speak out are strongly organic.

20 • The Rural Women's Movement LOCAL LEVEL: BUILDING STRUCTURES, FLEXING MUSCLES

he groups in the Rural Women's Movement have very different contexts, characters and strengths. Most are grounded on very lo T cal concerns (eg. a sewing group or a creche group) and they struggle to find ways of improving the poor living conditions of mem bers. Time and lack of resources to attend meetings often hinder the groups' operations. The exposure to other women in the Rural Women's Movement has had a definite impact on the local organisation and visions of women. One of the most obvious examples of the sharing of ideas and strategies can be shown in the Moutse and Hartebeesfontein women's marches. Moutse, with MamLydia's assistance, organised a successful march about water problems in September 1992. At the November 1992 AGM, the Moutse women put on a play showing how they organised. In December 1992, Hartebeesfontein (with assistance from TOAC's Sue Power) organ ised a march about health. This also produced results and these events have really made women realise that they can bring about change through action. We will look at a few areas in greater detail to show how the women developed at a local level during grassroots struggles. MOGOPA

When TRAC fieldworkers first went to Mogopa in the Western Transvaal in 1986, women sat separately from men in the community meetings called to discuss the impending forced removal. They knitted or toyed with tufts of grass, never raising their heads or taking an active part in the debates. The meetings were conducted between the TRAC field workers and the men. Women were observers, responding only mono-

The Rural Women's Movement • 22 ▲ TRAC fieldworker Aninka Claassens meeting members of the Mogopa community, mid 1980s syllabically when directly asked to. No opinions were forthcoming. As a woman fieldworker, MamLydia approached the problem from two angles. She spoke to the kgotla and tried to convince them of the need to involve all sectors of the community if they wanted to effectively fight against their removal. This included youth and women who need ed to be mobilised to strengthen the community's resistance. MamLydia asked for the kgotla's authorisation to meet with the women separately in order to discuss how the crisis affected them specifically. Having won this right, she then called the women together. The women of Mogopa were surprised, apprehensive and suspicious of this strange, they as sumed, urban woman. I started organising women and trying to put confidence in them that they also have to be part of the decision making body of the community. The fact that the women are the ones that are affected by all these threats of forced removal. When the government officials arrive in their commu nity, the first people to be approached are the women at their homes where they are looking after the children and their homes while their husbands are maybe in the veld looking after their cattle or even in town as migrant workers. [Lydia Kompe, 1990] MamLydia then spoke to them about their role in responding to the

22 • The Rural Women's Movement threat of forced removal facing the community. She pointed out the dan ger of their current approach of remaining withdrawn and unassertive when government officials visited the community. Since the men were usually absent when the officials came to deliver notices of eviction or the like, the women's refusal to engage them could be taken as consent to the removal. The women responded as if awaking from sleep. They agreed that they had a responsibility to deal with these threats but expressed anxiety about how to go about this. They complained that they didn't understand the issues since they were excluded from the kgotla meetings and only gleaned bits of information if a husband made a passing com ment. The men made no attempt to explain the situation to the women and then left them to face the crisis when they left for work in the city every week. What we did was that we first formed a women's group, out of the women's group, the women themselves elected their executive with a chairperson, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer and spokesperson. Out of these maybe six people, the men would tell us now many women they wanted to involve. At Mogopa they involved 4 or 5 women in the kgotla which we felt was a good representation and the women would elect peo ple who were good participants. [Lydia Kompe, 1990] Once the women felt trust for the organiser, the ideas they expressed showed great insight and commitment. MamLydia helped the women to combat their feeling of inadequacy when speaking at meetings, consid ered to be the domain of men, by encouraging mutual support. One woman asserting herself in a kgotla meeting is impossible to contemplate, but if the women assert a united position, it becomes a less threatening experience. It was clear that while women felt they didn't have "a right" to be there in terms of tradition, they felt resentful of their exclusion. I first approached the Mogopa kgotla to explain to them that it is crucial that the women are part of this decision making body because, firstly, they are the main victims of the crisis/forced removal and secondly, it makes it a lot easier when the person who has been approached or experienced this personally be part of the kgotla so that she delivers the message from first hand experience... It was really a big task to burn them (the men) down and we had to fight. I constantly insisted that women should be included. [Lydia Kompe, 1990] Over the process of struggle to resist the removal and then to return after being removed, the transformation of the women of Mogopa was dramatic. From being passive observers, they have become fully partici pating members of the community. The process has not been easy and

The Rural Women's Movement • 23 certain sections of the community have resisted women gaining power. Recent examples show ongoing tension around this issue, but also illus trate the progress that has been made. After the community reoccupied their land in defiance of government orders, one of the two farms was given back to the community. In October 1991, some of the men on the committee tried to suggest that no women should be allowed to attend a meeting with the community's lawyer to discuss the terms of the settlement of the restoration of their land. The women challenged them and insisted that either they be pre sent or the lawyer should come to the community to meet everyone. The men were forced to give in. The strength of the alliance between the women and youth, previous ly both marginalised in the community, was demonstrated at a meeting in September 1991. Some old men launched an attack on the "new prac tises" of allowing full community participation and tried to blame out siders (ie TRAC). The conflict became very tense and youths were threat ened with physical violence by some older men. The women literally picked up their skirts and rushed to defend the youths under attack. The immediate conflict was resolved in this instances. These actions of the women would never have been imaginable a few years ago. In community meetings nowadays in Mogopa the women are ex tremely vocal. They often heckle speakers if they do not agree, or break into song to drown an unpopular speaker. Old men try to reassert their power: " ...in our tradition women are never seen in meetings". The women challenge such assertions, boldly saying that the traditions are outdated; they have participated in the struggle and have earned their right to have a voice. During 1993 there were ongoing discussions about a draft constitution for the re-establishment of Mogopa. The women were very active in the process and even put forward a constitution which they had drawn up. Their proposal specifies the rights (in particular to residential plots) of divorced women, sons-in-law, unmarried adult women, children of non residents, and bachelors. In general, it proposes that women have inde pendent rights to residential plots, not only through their husbands or fa thers. In terms of local authority, this constitution proposes a mix of the de mocratic and tribal tradition — there should be an Executive Committee (rather than a traditional kgotla), but it should be based on the traditional kgoros or wards. Unpopular leaders can be removed from office, though the mechanism to do so is not specified. The constitution does not stipu late whether women would be able to be on the Executive Committee,

24 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ An Oukasie woman leads the singing at a women's meeting. Women are more assertive after exposure to the RWM. though in practise this right has been won. The women have been tin in tegral part of the leadership structures of Mogopa for the past 2 years, and this probably lead to an assumption that women would be included in the committee. It is TRAC's experience that where crises arose and women were alone in the community, the situation forced them to think, act and make decisions together. The women were forced to rely on one another and when the struggles proved each others' reliability, trust began to devel op. Leadership emerged because the issues that confronted the women in these situations were so serious and emotive that individuals felt com pelled to act. The nature of the struggles — threats against women's homes, families and ancestors — were such that the emotional response overpowered the normal reticence.

The Rural Women's Movement • 25 MOUTSE

Moutse is a collection of 43 villages just south of Groblersdal in the Northern Transvaal. The community has become politicised through bit ter struggles during the late 1980's against incorporation into the home land of KwaNdabele. The area remains strongly traditional, though tra ditional leaders participated actively in the political struggles. There is also a civic movement which co-exists (though conflicts do arise) with the traditional tribal authority. TRAC started working in the area in 1986 in response to a call for as sistance to prevent a forced incorporation of the community into KwaNdebele. There were no formal women's group in Moutse when MamLydia first worked with the community. MamLydia says she took a similar approach to organising as she had at Mogopa. The crisis that was confronting the community also made it imperative for the women to be organised and strong enough to support the resistance. The objective of organising was to help strengthen the resistance since women were often vulnerable to pressure from authorities and too fearful to play an active role in the struggles. TRAC also worked with the youth who were often at the forefront of the conflict. The youth expressed the need for support from their mothers when they were in hiding, to bring them food and bail them out of jail when arrested. Since women were often present when the police and vigilantes at tacked the community, they needed to be able to observe the actions with an eye for detail so that they could be used as witnesses in statements taken by lawyers. MamLydia helped them to gain confidence to peep out of their windows, looking for registration numbers of vehicles, recog nising the kinds of vehicles, uniforms and guns used in the incidents. Women's groups were formed in Ratanang, Mpeleng, Matlala and Naganeng during 1986 and 1987. The women collected money to bail their children out of jail and buy food to take to detainees. The groups were formed to give women the strength to resist. It was a politicised form of organisation but approached from the perspective of women as the mothers and wives of activists under attack. The groups had an agreement to help prevent the intimidation of women. Often police or vigilante groups would arrive at an activist's house when only the woman was present. She would be subjected to beating and interroga tion to reveal the hiding places of her husbands or sons. Women in the neighbourhood who formed part of the women's group would rush to that unfortunate woman's house to give her support. With 5 or 10 shout-

26 • The Rural Women's Movement * KS'jTS:_ , ,,r 'NijWftNR WFl SftLLEKG O W L A THFIIXING

A The Moutse Water Committee demonstrating in front of magistrate’s office ing women, the intruders would usually give up and leave. Since the struggle against incorporation was won, the focus of the women's groups has shifted to broader issues of living conditions. MamLydia also linked the women to other women's organisations in the region in order to build their confidence. Moutse women participat ed in some Federation of Transvaal Women (Fedtraw) events which opened women's eyes and gave them a vision of what other women have achieved. The opportunity to meet prominent women "...made them feel very important, that they were being recognised," said MamLydia. Though the area was traditional with strong belief in the authority of chiefs and elders, as with Mogopa, the crisis loosened the rigidity of the social system. When pitsos (general community meetings) were called to discuss the political crisis, women were allowed to attend because they needed to be well briefed. The struggle forced the traditional leadership to include and rely on those sectors which are normally excluded from mainline community decision making — the youth and the women. This legacy has affected the present day attitudes. Although there is still re-

The Rural Women's Movement • 27 spect for the chief and old traditions, the civic is active in the community and the women believe they are entitled to some recognition. Women are still not on the kgotla but they attend pitsos and will sometimes speak. There has been an ongoing problem with water supply in Moutse for years. The drought in 1991-1992 made the situation worse. The women bear the brunt of the problem since they are the ones who are responsible for water collection. Since 1 arrived here in 1970, there has been this problem of shortage of water, and no-one ever worried about it. We go quite a distance to fetch water with buckets (25 litres). When you get home you your water into a water pitcher. Children use it to bath in the morning to get ready to go to school. After that you're left with little water, enough to make them tea. Our work fo r the whole day is to fetch water because you take time to and from where we fetch water. [Margaret Mohlamonyane, Moutse, November 1990] At a sub-regional meeting in August 1992, 9 women's groups met to discuss problems in the area. The water problem came out as the single most urgent problem. There are water committees in many of villages on which some of the women present were serving. But there has been a long process of discuss and negotiation with local officials, but consis tently no results. In group discussions on what to do, the women decided to hold a march to the magistrate's office to present their demands. The women decided to invite other organisations in the area to attend a planning meeting. They decided to request the assistance of the Moshate (chief's kraal) in getting permission for the march. The meeting place was made at the office of the tribal authority where the women were to brief the chief, kgotla, civic and youth on their plans. They hoped to get support from these sectors but still maintain the women's initiative. A planning committee for the march was elected comprising of 2 women from 6 dif ferent groups. They were to help publicise the march and get women there. At the planning meeting there were many organisations represented — including the Teachers' Union, the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA), as well as the ANC Youth League and the civic. Women lead the discussion for the march plans. At the planning meeting tasks were allocated to the different partici pating groups (for example, the chief was asked to get permission and negotiate for bus transport; the civic was asked to help produce the mem orandum; TRAC was asked to organise publicity). The politicised con text of the community is evident in the memorandum compiled which in-

25 • The Rural Women's Movement Rural Uonens Movent t

A Moutse water march - women wearing traditional dress to make the authorities take them seriously

eludes very far-reaching political demands for a new South Africa. The women asked the civic to compile the memorandum because they felt they lacked the skills and because they did not have a formal letterhead. The women later expressed dissatisfaction with the final product because it did not acknowledge the leading role of the women. The women on the planning committee met to make plans for the march organisation. The women were very thorough in the planning. They appointed people to be at the venue early to welcome people. Certain women were appointed as first aid nurses and some to provide water for the marchers. The memorandum was distributed and posted in villages as an advertising leaflet. The women were to lead the march, and asked the youth to help with marshalling as they were uncertain

The Rural Women's Movement • 29 A Moutse women organise - one of the many women's groups in the area

3 0 • The Rural Women's Movement how the police would respond. In the planning, certain issues on the memorandum were prioritised and different women given the task of speaking on topics. It was resolved by the women that they would not leave the magistrate's office until he had agreed upon a date for a meet ing to discuss the demands. Women decided to wear traditional dress for the march as they want ed to ensure that the authorities would take their march seriously. There had been so many marches organised by political organisations, that the women wanted to distinguish themselves. They decided that by wearing traditional dress, they would be very visibly identifiable as being women from this area. They also hoped that their march would look different and the leadership of the women would cause the officials pay attention to their problems. Women had intended to hand in the memorandum, but on the day, other organisations demanded their right to be part of the delegation. There were about 3 000 people present, much fewer than expected be cause the buses that were supposed to transport people did not materi alise. The other organisations had not been part of the women's strategy discussion, where they had resolved to hold a sit-in until a date for a fol low-up meeting was given. Some male members of the delegation left the magistrate's office after the memorandum was handed over. The women stayed on and demanded a date be finalised before they would leave. This upset the men because they felt they had been excluded. The magistrate responded to the pressure and a meeting for one week later was given, which the women considered a victory in itself. In the follow up meeting there was a dispute about the quality of wa ter, the issue of whether drivers of water trucks were selling water and fi nances. In order to overcome some of these disputes of fact, a system of monitoring was established. Groups of women were appointed to super vise the delivery points. These women were to stand at the appointed spots and check whether the trucks stopped, the water was clean, and to keep a note of the driver's name and truck's registration number. These tasks were done by members of the women's water planning committee for a 2 week period. Members of the civic were given responsibility to check where the water was being collected from to ensure the source was clean. After two weeks of this monitoring, the water delivery system was operating more efficiently and the process was suspended. The people still complained that the quantity and reach of the water supply pro gramme was inadequate. But the problems of selling water, discriminat ing against certain areas and the purity of the water were dealt with. At the sub-regional meeting of the Moutse Rural Women's Movement

The Rural Women's Moivmenl • 31 ▲ Meeting in small groups, Marishane, Sekhukhuneland in July 1993, it was decided to formalise the water march planning com mittee. It was resolved to convert the planning committee to a perma nent Co-ordinating Committee for the groups participating. The initial groups from 7 villages — Ntwane, Marapong, Stomp, Gabokwange, Mpeleng, Matlala Lekgwereleng, Naganeng — were joined by two more areas — Stoplite and Magakadimeng. The Co-ordinating Committee is comprised of 2 representatives from each village. The Co-ordinating Committee (CC) was given various tasks: • To improve communication between the groups. • To act as the women's official negotiators with outside groups (eg. lo cal government officials, health officials, funding agencies) and to report back to the women's groups. • To visit groups participating in the CC to encourage and advise them. • To call more regular meetings of the participating women's groups in the form of sub-regional meetings (which with TRAC's assistance have been only happening once per year) so that common projects can be dis cussed (eg. creches). • To find out what training the groups need and find out which groups can assist with these needs. The main issue facing the Co-ordinating Committee is how to build its own capacity to respond to all the needs of the women they serve. They need to develop skills in fund-raising and financial management; motiva tion and organising skills to strengthen the groups and practical ways to help groups launch income-generating projects.

32 • The Rural Women's Movement COPING WITH CONFLICTS

he Rural Women's Movement has chosen to organise around basic living conditions at a local level. The women are directly affected T by the problems of water supply and lack of health services. BUT these are problems suffered by the whole community. When the women have managed to achieve some recognition of these problems and begin to deal with authorities who have access to resources or power, conflicts with traditionally male dominated structures do arise. The following ex-

Tlie Rural Women's Movement • 33 ample is an indication of how this dynamic develops. In June 1993, members of the RWM from all over the Transvaal at tended a meeting with Rina Venter, Minister of Health, which had been arranged by the RWM Executive. The meeting's intention was to draw the minister's attention to the appalling condition of health services in rural areas. For rural women to achieve a meeting at ministerial level is in itself a remarkable achievement. At the meeting dates for follow-up with health department officials were set up. An inspection visit to one rural hospital was arranged for end of July. The day before the visit of the Health officials, the local RWM group had a preparatory meeting with MamLydia. MamLydia persuaded the women to invite members of the civic to participate in the planning and the actual meeting. Local women were a little reluctant be cause they feared domination by men. They based these fears on the ex perience of other events women had organised where the men had tried to take control. But the civic attended. At the opening of the meeting, the Director-General of Health explicitly stated that he had been invited by the RWM and so he assumed that the men present were attending as observers. This opening remark had the effect of silencing the civic mem bers even though they remained present in the meeting. Tensions between the civic and the RWM groups had been sharpened over various events in the village where women had been organising sep arately. The health meeting where the powerful outsider apparently snubbed the men present, effectively fuelled the conflict. Finally, on re quest from local people, a meeting between the civic and the women's groups was convened by TRAC to bring the problems out into the open. Accusations and counter accusations ensued. The civic accused the RWM or individuals within it of monopolising their creches instead of them being used for the entire community. TRAC was also accused of bi ased distribution of resources by allocating resources to the RWM only. The RWM, on the other hand, indicated that the civic threatened its autonomy and members of the civic disrespected its members. These problems and concerns were deliberated for a long time within a very tense climate until it became clear that members of each organisation lacked clarity as to the aims and role of the other organisation. The civic is dominantly represented by young men who are deeply rooted in the world of male domination. Women are not supposed to be seen taking a leading role in development and in the estab lishment of structures, which are known to be male dominated roles. The launching of the RWM is seen as a threat taking over men's roles.

34 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ Deciding RWM's direction - Lina Kotelo (centre) in a discussion at RWM AGM, November 1992

The Rural Women's Movement • 35 ▲ Women enjoy their time together at meetings - Sekhukhuneland, 1991 There seems to be an overlap of aims and objectives between these organisations. The discussions identified areas of common concern but failed to identify the different interests. For instance, that the civic is supposed to be leading the community in issues affecting all the residents is not clearly stated. Secondly, that the RWM is having a targeted population is also not understood. This is indicated by the proposal that the RWM should be a sub committee of the civic (taken from small group discussions). This is likely to undermine the autonomy of the RWM and subjugate its aims and objectives. The proposal by another small group, the RWM should send two representatives to stand as ex-officio mem bers of the Civic is likely to lead to a healthy relationship between the two structures. (TRAC field report, 19/08/93) Resolution about the relationship between the civic and the women has still to be agreed by all parties. The idea of having 2 women sitting as ex-officio representatives on the civic sounds like the best possible solu-

36 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ Moutse women enact their water march at RWM meeting in 1992 tion. But whether this will prevent the struggle around who has authori ty/autonomy is debatable and will have to be tested over time. As the Rural Women's Movement has grown and the women gained confidence, conflicts with men or predominantly male structures have become more obvious. In the past, women organised in direct support of broad community struggles (eg. at Mogopa to prevent a forced removal and at Moutse against the incorporation). As the focus shifts to resource issues, the question of power and competition for control of resources also arises. It is notable that alongside the successes of the RWM comes a struggle for control over who initiates and leads. At earlier points in the RWM's history men in local communities have showed great pride in the organisation of women. When women's effec tiveness means that they are the ones who are bringing about concrete changes and getting recognition for it men may feel more ambivalent about women's strength.

The Rural Women's Movement • 37 ARWM secretary Yvonne Padi addresses a meeting

CONCLUSIONS

he Rural Women's Movement is a network of women's groups brought together initially from the shared suffering of apartheid T land policies. This overtly political common history has deter mined the character of the movement. Though today, many of the groups joining have not waged direct apartheid-related land struggles, this legacy is entrenched in the ideology of the RWM. In joining the oth er women, new groups are quickly politicised (not along party political lines) about questions of power and rights both at a local and national level. In this document we have not analysed how the different context of women's lives influence their attitudes. This is an important dynamic to understand and with MamBeauty's work on white farms, it is a ques tion we intend to explore further in the future. While land remains a primary concern, with the new political climate women are speaking more and more about the conditions of their daily lives — issues of water, schools, child care and employment. Most of the RWM's members are married with children. Where

38 • The Rural Women's Movement ▲ Drums, singing and dancing at Mathopestad, 1986 younger or unmarried women participate, some generational conflicts have arisen. Mostly though, it is a fairly coherent group who have a com mon experiences. A question may be posed about the effect of association with the RWM on women's domestic lives. We cannot draw conclusions about changing behaviour and attitudes in the home because it is a very diffi cult, slow process. The women's demeanour and conduct certainly indi cate an improved self-image which must somehow spill over on how they deal with domestic situations. We have observed on many occasions that the struggle for women's independence is a push-pull process — progress is made and women are supported, and then men may try to reassert old traditions. This was cer tainly the experience of Mogopa. But once women have learnt to assert themselves and gained some confidence, it is unlikely that the clock can be turned back completely. Our overall feeling is that new conflicts aris ing can be overcome. We have no doubt that the benefits for the women and the community as a whole that arise from women's empowerment far outweigh the problems which will have be addressed. Our old obser vation is still valid — women make up the majority of rural residents and their mobilisation will have a major impact on the development of the rural areas. The Rural Women's Movement is a sign of hope. Since the first meet ing held in 1986, the Movement has grown in size and stature. The women who are leadership today could not previously have contemplat ed the actions they now initiate and lead. These include organising com munity action, meeting top level political leaders and challenging chiefs.

The Rural Women's Movement • 39 Magana, Catherine Disoloane, Ellen Nkosi and Yvonne ▲Tladinyane Regional organisers pose in banner.of front From left: Jane Kadi, EllenNtsoelengoe, Marina women at a local level to the RWM has surprised even veteran organiser organiser of veteran even receptiveness surprised and has RWM feeling the of to level strength local the a at TRAC, women by initiated Though raiain poiig aeil n lgsia spot n hlig to helping and support logistical and material providing organisation, Kompe. MamLydia g ain co n fid en ce. From th ose early roots of o rg a n isin g d on e by by e on d g of isin n demands a the rg to o of responded has roots TRAC it. early with along ose th TRAC taken From has ce. en fid n co ain g women's social movement. The vision in TRAC was to strengthen the the strengthen to was a TRAC the in develop vision to formalise The plan to strategic helped term movement. long TRAC a social never women's was movement. there the but of stimulating movement, in direction role the major a shape played has It RWM. the of formation the for The long term direction of the RWM is as yet unknown. There are many many are There unknown. yet as is RWM the of direction term long The rural about ation inform for press) the and fora needs. women's negotiations that parties, momentum own its gained has movement the would they Kompe, that so MamLydia them organise to helping by women rural of position the movement for support, and from major interest groups (like political political (like groups interest major from and support, for movement the challenges waiting for the RWM with the imminent arrival of a new de new a of arrival imminent the with RWM the areas. for those waiting of existence challenges communities very the rural to in threats deployed immediate being were there organiser where charismatic and unique mocratically elected government. But even as it stands today, it has had had has it women. today, Transvaal many stands of it lives as the on even But impact remarkable a government. elected mocratically M M — nm The Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC) has been the catalyst catalyst the been has (TRAC) Committee Action Rural Transvaal The h mvmn eegd hog te obnd icmtne o a of circumstances combined the through emerged movement The T NCflbE BIJKHALINI UHE5E UBAMBA UMAMA MWWCWNA 0 TgMIRHTIiPftW ffl BOCALENC MWWCWNA 0 TgMIRHTIiPftW he M other H olds 0• h ua WmnsMoe ent ovem M Women's Rural The • 40 THErN»FEDNTHE5HflRP 5 ioe

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Collection Number: A3299 Collection Name: Hilda and Rusty BERNSTEIN Papers, 1931-2006

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