Celebrating African women on Aug. 9: Women's Day
On August 9, 1956, 20,000
South African women participated in a national march to protest pass laws
designed by the White-minority Apartheid government to control the movement of
Blacks. The marchers brought petitions signed by over 100,000 women opposed to
the laws, which required them to carry pass books that could be checked at any
time by police. (photo by Jurgen Schadeberg, from Art Aids Art's traveling exhibit).
On the way to protest at the
Union Buildings, the women sang the following freedom song:
Wathint’ abafazi,
wathint’
imbokodo,
uza kufa!
[When] you strike the
women,
you strike a rock, you will be crushed [you will die]!
Since 1994, August 9 has
been recognized as National Women’s Day in South Africa. Art Aids Art solutes the spirit of
these courageous women as a reminder that we must all continuously work toward
social justice for all people.