Women of great valour

THEY’RE names you drive past daily on Durban’s streets, yet the stories behind the names remain largely unheard.

But now, a new exhibition to acknowledge the country’s female struggle stalwarts, in celebration of Women’s month, reveals some of the often tragic situations that female freedom fighters endured in the fight for a better country.

The exhibition is being showcased at the 1860 Heritage Centre in Derby Street, central Durban, and was curated by a team led by Selvan Naidoo.

“There is no exhibition like this in the country. Our team spent months researching to come up with this exhibition that honours the role of women in the fight for freedom, from the early 1900s up to 1994,” said Naidoo.

“The main aspect of this exhibition is to show that women were united, there was proper social cohesion in the marches – black, white, Indian, coloured, all came together and stood united.”

The exhibition summarises the work of activists such as Phila Ndwandwe, Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi and Amina Cachalia.

“Some of these names would be familiar to Durban residents. Some streets have had name changes and the new names, although around for many years, may not be known to the younger generation. This generation needs to learn about Phila Ndwandwe, Lillian Ngoyi and Ruth First. This is why we’ve used the imagery of the street poles, so that people can relate,” he said.

The exhibition covers the role of women in the anti-pass campaigns, trade unions, World War II, ghetto act protests, and the Treason Trial.

Exhibition

“It’s vitally important that a social cohesion programme is instated that sees people today identifying with the struggle heroes and heroines,” he said.

The material for the exhibition was sourced from SA History Online, UKZN and several other sources. We hope that people will be able to take away information from the exhibition and honour the women, who in some cases died for their beliefs.

The exhibition runs indefinitely. For more information visit: https://1860heritagecentre.com/

PICTURE LEON LESTRADE. AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY/ANA. STEADY THEME: Women supporting each other across the divides is the theme that runs through an exhibition curated by Selvan Naidoo, pictured, at the 1860 Heritage Centre in Durban.

HONOURED: This image of a blue plastic dress made by artist Judith Mason, in honour of struggle stalwart Phila Ndwandwe, indicates the suffering women endured during the fight against apartheid. Ndwandwe was tortured and found in a shallow grave with a pair of plastic panties she made for herself while in captivity. Mason, years later, made this dress to honour Ndwandwe.

SELFLESS: These images, part of the exhibition, showcase the sacrifices made by South African women in the fight against apartheid.

BOLD: Anti-apartheid activist Helen Joseph spearheaded the march against the Pass Laws.