Africa: Wathint' Abafazi 70 Years On

What the report says

African Arguments, republished by AllAfrica, marks the 70th anniversary of South Africa’s 1956 Women’s March and uses the occasion to review the long history of women’s anti-apartheid organising. The piece says the march was led by the Federation of South African Women and brought about 20,000 women to Pretoria’s Union Buildings, where they submitted petitions opposing pass laws and the extension of the dompas to Black women.

The analysis highlights the roles of prominent activists such as Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams, while also pointing to earlier campaigns led by Charlotte Mannya Maxeke and later organizations including the ANC Women’s League and the Black Sash. It argues that slogans such as “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo” became enduring symbols of resistance, even as women’s contributions were often left out of mainstream accounts of the liberation struggle.

The article connects this history to contemporary South Africa, noting that the country’s 1996 Constitution includes strong gender-equality protections but that gender-based violence remains a severe and persistent problem. It says women’s groups have pushed for stronger responses, including a national strategic plan and a GBVF Response Fund, and points to the later declaration of gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster in 2025. The authors use the anniversary to argue that remembering women’s activism is essential to understanding both apartheid-era resistance and unfinished struggles for equality today.