As South Africa approaches International Women’s Day, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation is calling on members of the public to help identify women who participated in the historic 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings, as the country prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the march in 2026.
On 9 August 1956, approximately 20 000 women marched in protest against the pass laws, one of the most powerful demonstrations of resistance during the apartheid era. While some of the women who participated in the march are widely known, thousands of others remain unnamed in historical records.
Through its 1956 Izimbokodo project, the Foundation has begun compiling a list of women who took part in the march. The 88 names currently published on the Foundation’s website were gathered with the help of members of the public who responded to an earlier call for information.
The Foundation is now inviting families and communities across the country to help expand this list so that more of the women who participated in the march can be recognised and remembered.
We know that many of the women who marched in 1956 were ordinary community members whose contributions were never formally recorded. We hope that families and communities will help us honour their legacy by sharing their names and stories.
Members of the public who know of women who participated in the march are encouraged to submit their names to info@kathradafoundation.org.
The current list of names can be viewed on the Foundation’s website HERE
Help us complete the list.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Anele Gcwabe
Communications Manager
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation
083-278-8832
anele@kathradafoundation.org
