WOMEN’S MARCH
9th August 1956
Anna Kotouckova
Welcome to our online exhibition which pays tribute to the contribution of women in the liberation struggle. Simply click on any individual stand-alone image for a closer view and to learn more.
Stories of those who fought for freedom have the power to speak to contemporary communities facing their own battles for social justice and remind us that by working together, we can make a difference.
To mark 2023’s South African Women’s Day on August 9th, we have once again collaborated with London Metropolitan University. The 2022/23 cohort of second year Illustration & Animation students were taught various print techniques and then chose to use riso, lino or screen printing to produce work inspired by twelve South African women activists.
These activists are just a few amongst the many who played a significant, yet largely unknown, part in the South African liberation struggle. The exhibition’s intention is to provoke overdue conversations about these incredible women who came from a range of cultural, economic and social backgrounds.
STRENGTH IN UNITY – ALL WOMEN
Norberto Aridane Rodriguez Gonzalez
ADELAIDE JOSEPH
Diana Maria Prelipcean
ADELAIDE TAMBO
Dario Ricci
ALBERTINA SISULU
Iulia Marinela Stan
ADELAIDE TAMBO
Zaina Nooruddin
BLANCHE LA GUMA
Karma Spalluto
Black women under Apartheid experienced the triple oppression of race, class and gender. Many worked as domestic servants, leaving their own children in the care of elders in the segregated townships to travel to White-only suburbs to look after White children and homes. They received extremely low wages and slept in shed-like structures in their employers’ back gardens. Others worked long hours with low pay in factories.
The immense contribution of women in the struggle is too often overlooked and undervalued. Some of the featured women were imprisoned and harassed by police. Others worked underground in political operations that even their husbands were unaware of at the time, such was their discipline as political cadres. History tends to be written by men and about men. Some of these women went on to write their own stories yet several have still not been widely heard.
DOROTHY NYEMBE
Simony Zago De Souza
TREASON TRIAL
Tyler Gerald
DULCIE SEPTEMBER
Natasha Lundt
LILIAN NGOYI
Annie Golding
ALBERTINA SISULU
Natalia Rosocha
ALBERTINA SISULU
Natalia Rosocha
Despite the brutality of the Apartheid regime with its policy of divide and rule, individuals across this highly stratified society became agents of change through collective action. These twelve women illustrate the slogan ‘strength in unity’ and this showcase demonstrates the power of art to engage with history.
WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA
Alicia Jara Alfonso Molina
RUTH MOMPATI
Jasmine Laverick
RUTH FIRST
Oluwatoniloba Amos-Oke
RUTH FIRST
Jewison Gertrudes
RAY ALEXANDER SIMONS
Eric Kamshat Tuleshova
LILIAN NGOYI
Anna Kotouckova
Acknowledgments
We’d like to thank all the BA Illustration & Animation students who worked on this project and to congratulate them on the quality of artwork they produced.
Our thanks also to the following London Metropolitan University staff:
Emily Evans: Illustration & Animation Course Leader, School of Art, Architecture and Design
Olu Oke: Associate Lecturer and print specialist, School of Art, Architecture and Design
Jasmine Al-Aidi: Print Technical Demonstrator, School of Art, Architecture and Design
Çınar Aydoğan: Associate Lecturer, School of Computing and Digital Media
Research, content development, curation and design by members of The Liliesleaf Trust UK team, Nadia Joseph, Caroline Kamana and Yusuf Patel
