AS we head into Women’s Month, let us celebrate all our women – our sisters, our mothers, our daughters, our grannies, our friends…
The history behind Women’s Month in South Africa is profound as it serves as a commemoration and a tribute to thousands of women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women.
The march, coordinated by the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw), was led by four women – Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams De Bruyn – has become a historic event in the role of women in the struggle for freedom, according to the South African Government News Agency.
The actual day of the march – August 9- is commemorated as National Women’s Day.