Women's March, 1956
You have struck a rock WOMEN AGAINST PASS LAWS When the full story of Africa's struggle for meetings, our resolutions," they said. "Let us freedom is written, pride of place will go to the go to Pretoria ourselves and protest to the women who organised and struggled against Government against laws that oppress us." South Africa's hated pass laws. And women While the women of the Transvaal began will tell over and over again the story of how campaigning for their first protest to Pretoria, they went to Pretoria to protest to the Prime African women in Durban organised the first Minister himself — "I was there," they will demonstration to the authorities. First two say, "I was one of the women who went to hundred, then a thousand women demon Pretoria." strated to the Native Administration Depart ment, spurning the “letters of privilege", fore So Thursday, August 9th, 1956, blended runners of passes. "We will never carry into our history, will yet stand out as a rock, passes under any conditions!" they cried. a monumental achievement by the most op pressed, suffering and downtrodden of our Then in October, 1955, the women of the people — the women of South Africa. Transvaal went to Pretoria — two thousand women of all races, to the very heart of Union Buildings, of the Government itself. To get THE IDEA THAT GREW. there, they had to overcome innumerable ob It started a year before, in August, 1955, stacles; they had met with every possible when the women of the Transvaal, gathered official rebuff and refusal, with police inter in Conference organised by the Federation of ference and intimidation, withdrawal of trans South African Women, made a simple sugges port and deception, to prevent them from go tion.
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