70 Years After the Women's March, South Africa's Fight for Freedom Continues

South Africa is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the historic Women's March of 1956, when an estimated 20,000 women of all races converged on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest laws that forced Black women to carry internal passports, known as passes. The demonstration was a landmark moment in the struggle against white minority rule, but seven decades later, many women argue that the fight for genuine freedom remains unfinished.

Ramnie Dinat, who was a teenager at the time of the march, remembers the immense effort required to organize the protest. She helped her mother, anti-apartheid activist Ama Naidoo, go door-to-door to rally women to participate. "Everybody had to play a part," Dinat recalled. "To organize it wasn't easy. You had to go from door to door, knock at the door and tell the women, come out on the march. It's very important." She described the scene at the Union Buildings, where the women stood in peaceful silence, holding petitions against the pass laws.

The Women's Jail in Johannesburg, now a museum, served as a cornerstone of the apartheid prison system and later held many of the march's leaders. Nolubabalo Memese, a guide at the Constitution Hill precinct, says the jail was designed to break and dehumanize its inmates. Today, the museum honors both iconic figures like Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, as well as the countless ordinary women whose sacrifices went unrecorded.

While the legal restrictions of apartheid ended in 1994, Memese points to a "different monster" that now precludes women from enjoying true freedom of movement and economic participation. "That's gender-based violence, that's crime," she said, noting that women still face barriers to safety in their daily lives. A 2024 study supported by UN Women found that more than one in three South African women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Despite these challenges, there are signs of progress. Kgothatso Montjane, a champion wheelchair tennis player, sees the legacy of the 1956 marchers as a foundation for her own achievements. "They have paved the way for us to be able to be ourselves," she said. Montjane, who became the first Black South African woman to compete in all four major tennis tournaments, believes that while structural inequalities persist, the path is clearer for the next generation of women to pursue their dreams.