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THE STORY of the BLACK SASH the Women's Campaign for Justice and Good Government in South Africa

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THE STORY of the BLACK SASH the Women's Campaign for Justice and Good Government in South Africa THE STORY OF THE BLACK SASH The Women's Campaign for Justice and Good Government in South Africa. 'J'HE BLACK SASH came into being in May 1955, at a time of great political unrest in South Africa. After four years of repeated crises, caused by Government at­ tempts to remove the Cape Coloured voters from the common Voters' Roll by un­ constitutional means, the country had once again been thrown into a turmoil by the proposal to "pack" the Senate, in order to circumvent the entrenched clauses of the Constitution as embodied in the South Africa Act of 1909. The Background to the Senate Act. from the common roll in 1936. This removal had, however, been agreed to by a two-thirds majority The Nationalist Party, supported by a minority of both houses of Parliament sitting together, as of the voters, had come to power in 1948 with a laid down in the Constitution. slender Parliamentary majority. The new Govern­ ment lost no time in consolidating its position, and in implementing the policy of apartheid which had In 1952, the Separate Representation of Voters won the election. From the outset, much of the Act was tested in the Supreme Court of Appeal. legislation passed curtailed the freedom of the The Court ruled that the entrenched clauses were individual, limited the protection of the Courts and still binding upon Parliament and declared the conferred wide and arbitrary powers on Cabinet Act invalid, to the great relief of many South Ministers. Little regard was shown for the con­ Africans whose faith in the integrity of their stitutional forms upon which our Parliamentary courts of law was thus confirmed. The Govern­ system was based. Public misgiving mounted, and ment, however, refused to accept the ruling of the was finally expressed in country-wide protests in Court, and proceeded to re-establish the 1951, when the Separate Representation of Voters "sovereignty of Parliament" by passing the High Act, designed to remove the Coloured voters from Court of Parliament Act, which provided that all the common roll, was passed with a bare majority. the members of Parliament, sitting together, should constitute a special High Court, with power to set aside judgments of the Appeal Court. In 1953, this Act, too, was declared invalid by the Supreme The Cape Coloured people had enjoyed common Court. roll franchise rights for nearly a hundred years. The preservation of these rights was regarded by fie Cape delegates to the National Convention in 1909 as a moral obligation, and they insisted that they be entrenched in the new South African Con­ The Senate Bill stitution, together with the Dutch and English In the General Election of 1953, the Nationalists language rights and the voting rights of the Cape were again returned to power, with an increased Africans. The entrenchment provided that these majority, although still with a minority of the rights could be altered only by a two-thirds votes cast. The Prime Minister, Dr. Malan, made majority of both houses of Parliament in joint no further attempt to remove the Coloured voters session. from the common roll, but upon his retirement from active politics at the end of 1954, he was succeeded by the strong man of the Nationalist The protests against the Separate Representa­ Party, Mr. J. G. Striidom, "the Lion of the North". tion of Voters Act were therefore based on two Early in 1955, Mr. Strijdom announced his party"s issues, one legal, one moral — the violation of the intention of taking advantage of another provision legal provisions of the Constitution, and the break­ of the Constitution and reconstituting the Senate ing of a solemn pledge to the Coloured people. or upper house, "packing" it with nominated The Government maintained that the Statute of Nationalist Senators, in order to give the Govern­ Westminster, in conferring sovereign status on ment the two-thirds majority it could not obtain the South African Parliament in 1931. had invali­ by normal means. The intention was, of course, to dated the entrenched clauses, and they pointed use the spurious two-thirds majority to remove out that the Cape Africans had been removed the Coloured voters from the common roll u,-, „ y » v • II ****<* Marching up the Mil to the Union Buildings, Pretoria, to present the petition to the Prime Minister's Deputy. The people of South Africa seethed with anger The Women's Defence of the and resentment at the mockery that was being made of their Constitution. Mass protest meetings Constitution League were held throughout the country. The Senate Bill So deep was the emotion aroused in that his­ was attacked in and out of Parliament, in the toric march, that a meeting was called for the Press, in public halls, in private homes. following week to consider further action. Fifty women attended, and a committee of twelve was elected. It was decided to launch two petitions, one to the Governor-General, asking him not to It was at this stage that six women met for sign the Bill, and the second, to be presented in tea one morning in mid-May at a house in the the event of his refusal, to the Prime Minister, northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Like thousands of other South Africans, they were filled with in­ >etitioning him to repeal the Act or to resign dignation, and with a sense of frustration and per­ ?rom office. The petitions were to be signed by sonal helplessness. "What can we do?" they asked. women only. And suddenly realizing that there were thousands The Senate Bill was then being debated in Par­ of other South Africans, who were asking them­ liament, and this newly-formed Women's Defence selves the same question, they decided that there or the Constitution League had just two weeks in was something they could do — they could which to collect the signatures. The preamble to organize a women's protest march. They tele­ the petition to the Governor-General, a piece of phoned their friends, who in turn telephoned fine prose and reasoned argument, was hurriedly their friends, and a preliminary meeting was ar­ printed, and petitions were sent out to 290 towns ranged. Pamphlets were printed and distributed, in the Union, to unknown people, in the faith and the co-operation of the Press was sought, banners belief that the women of South Africa must feel were prepared, and on the afternoon of the 25th as the women of Johannesburg did. That faith was May, 2,500 women assembled at the Scottish War not misplaced. In spite of postal delays, difficul­ Memorial near Joubert Park, and then marched ties of communication, amateur organization and silently through the streets of Johannesburg, led lack of money, 100,000 signatures were collected by one drummer girl, to the City Hall steps. Jn from women in ten days. response to public demand, the Mayor of Johan­ nesburg had called a citizens' meeting there, and On June 16th. the Secretary of the League flew thousands of people had assembled to listen to to Cape Town with the petition forms, which were several speakers, including Dr. Winifred Hoernle, presented to the Governor-General — in vain. The whose inspiring speech moved many to tears. Bill was signed, the Act became law, and the Par­ liamentary session ended. ni The Vigil at Union Buildings That might have been the end of the story — The Prime Minister was then asked to meet a it was actually only the beginning. The Senate deputation in Pretoria, to receive the second Act had been placed upon the Statute Book, the petition. He refused, but appointed Mr. Ben Schoe- petitions had tailed, the vigil was over; but the women who had come together from the four man. Minister of Transport, his deputy. provinces of the Union to oppose the threat to On the 28th June, a bitterly cold day, women their Constitution were determined to remain to­ from the length and breadth of the Union gathered gether to fight the Act to the bitter end. at the Zoo Lake in Johannesburg and drove in two motor convoys to Pretoria. Then, carrying banners which bore the name of every town and The Black Sash village where the petition had been signed, they On the 18th July, four women, representing the marched silently up the steep hill to the Union four provinces, began a vigil at the Union Build­ Buildings. After a short service of dedication in ings, a vigil that was to be maintained on every the amphitheatre, a delegation of six women working day until Parliament opened in Cape presented the petition to Mr. Schoeman in his office. He received them courteously, but made it Town in January. They wore black sashes across quite clear that his Government had no intention their right shoulders, bearing the words "EER- of considering any request to alter the Senate Act. B1EDIG ONS GRONDWET" (Honour our Constitu­ tion). The following day, a Cabinet Minister re­ The League's next move was to mount a two- turning from Europe was met at the Airport by day vigil in the grounds of Union Buildings, to twenty-four silent women, again wearing black demonstrate continued opposition to the Senate sashes as a symbol of mourning. Act. More than sixty women slept in the open on From then onwards, Cabinet Ministers were that first bitter night; on the second night there constantly "haunted" in their comings and goings were more than a hundred. The dramatic 48-hour about the country by groups of "Black Sash" vigil captured the imagination of the public, and women, silently reproaching them for their part when the women returned to Johannesburg on the in dishonouring the Covenant of Union.
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