Our Triumphs and Our Tears - Women’s Struggles in 20th century South Africa

"I remember the first man to the moon, when he set his foot on the moon, he said this is a little step forward for mankind. I ask myself, is my child and grandchildren mankind?"

Lilian Ngoyi

Though the 1956 anti-pass march is the most well-known example of women’s resistance to apartheid, it was by no means an isolated incident. From the 1920s to the 1950s, women were at the forefront of resistance. In the course of South African women’s struggles for a better life, a new gender consciousness emerged which has resulted in rights for women being enshrined in our Constitution. However, as this exhibition also shows, the struggle for women’s freedom is far from complete.