Seventy years after South Africa’s women’s march, the struggle is not over

Johannesburg, South Africa – Seventy years ago, Sophie Williams-de Bruyn was 18 when she joined about 20,000 women marching to the Union Buildings, the seat of South Africa’s apartheid government, to protest against the extension of the pass laws to Black women.

On August 9, 1956, the women gathered in Pretoria carrying a petition against laws that restricted the movement of Black South Africans. Williams-de Bruyn was among the leaders of the march, which became one of the defining moments of the country’s liberation struggle.

The country around her had changed. Apartheid had ended, South Africa had become a democracy and women had moved into some of the country’s highest offices. Its constitution guarantees equality and protection from discrimination.

But for many women, the freedoms won through that political transformation have not translated into security, economic opportunity or reliable public services.

“How can we fully celebrate our past victories when our present reality is so deeply disappointing and distressful?” Williams-de Bruyn asked.

Her question set a sombre tone for this year’s National Women’s Day commemorations, which marked 70 years since the historic march.

The women who marched in 1956 were challenging one of apartheid’s most visible instruments of racial control. The pass laws regulated where Black South Africans could live and work, and the government planned to extend those restrictions to Black women.

The women delivered their petitions at the Union Buildings and stood in silence for 30 minutes before leaving. The protest became a symbol of women’s resistance and is now commemorated each year as National Women’s Day.