By Reihana Mohideen
and Norm Dixon
"The reporters [used to] come to me and say 'What makes you so strong? You are alone, you're left with the children, you're in and out of jail. What makes you so strong?'. It's determination. It is knowing that nobody will do it if you don't. It's knowing that if the people have chosen you to work for them, then you are their slave. So you must do their work. That's what kept us strong."
These are the words of Albertina Sisulu, a long-time leader of the struggle against apartheid, describing the role of the women of South Africa who, in their millions and from all races, have played a central role in undermining the apartheid regime.
Albertina — in Australia at the invitation of the Australian government and accompanied by her husband, Walter — addressed a gathering in Sydney to celebrate South African Women's Day. August 9 was declared South African Women's Day by the United Nations in 1984.
Albertina Sisulu personifies the determination and strength of the women of South Africa. She was born in the Transkei in 1918. While in her teens she became an orphan and had to help support her brothers and sisters. She gave up her ambition of becoming a teacher and went to Johannesburg to train as a nurse.
During the early '40s she and Walter began to attend meetings of the African National Congress, including the inaugural meeting of the ANC Youth League. Albertina joined the ANC Women's League in 1948. She helped lead the defiance campaign of the early '50s, the 1956 women's protest against the pass laws and the campaign against segregated education. During this last campaign, her home became one of the alternative community schools set up by the movement.
Between 1953 and 1964 Walter Sisulu, now ANC general secretary, was jailed eight times. In 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island after the liberation movement's secret headquarters was raided. Albertina was not reunited with her companion until October 1989.
Albertina was detained for three months in 1963. From 1964 to 1983 she was under banning orders and under house arrest for 10 years. In 1984 she was sentenced to four years' jail for singing freedom songs, handing out leaflets and displaying the ANC flag at a funeral. The conviction was quashed on appeal. While in custody awaiting trial, she was elected to the post of national co-president of the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front.
In 1985, Albertina and 15 other UDF leaders were charged with high treason, but the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence. In 1988, the apartheid regime cracked down on the UDF, and Albertina was restricted from participation in political activities.
Since the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, she has worked to relaunch the Women's League. She was elected its deputy president at its conference early this year and was also elected to the ANC National Executive Committee at the ANC's recently completed national conference.
Albertina told the South African Women's Day celebration that women "are the backbone" of the struggle for democracy. She explained the importance of August 9: "In 1956 the apartheid government decided to extend the pass laws to the women. We fought. We organised a 20,000-women march to the Union Building to protest the extension of passes to women. These women were from all over our country, black and white; every woman was prepared to say 'I'd rather go to jail than carry a reference book, than to carry a key to lock me in jail if I forget to carry this book'.
"August 9 [1956] was one of the historic days where the whole world was informed about [the women's struggle against apartheid] especially now that it is internationally known as the women's day.
"Today [the Women's League is] operating openly, legally in our country. Today we can come together and celebrate that historic day, after 30 years of working underground. That is not because of us alone, but because we have supporters like you."
While there are important changes taking place in South Africa, Albertina asked anti-apartheid activists in Australia not to become complacent. "We still have our prisoners in jail, we still have exiles, we still have our children out of school, we still have families without homes. Yes, some of the restrictions have been removed, but they are the restrictions the people have already defied."
The moves to dismantle apartheid are not irreversible, she warned. De Klerk "is advocating peace. He is responsible for violence at the same time." The revelations that the de Klerk government has secretly funded Inkatha has refuted the government lie that township violence is "black on black". This violence "is perpetrated by the government" to undermine the liberation movement.
"We can no longer trust this government. All we want is that it be removed." The violence and the government role in fostering it make it essential for a constituent assembly be elected to write a new constitution, with the country being run by an interim government in the meantime.
"We still need sanctions. We should maintain sanctions", She added. "It is a deliberate lie [to say sanctions did not work]. Sanctions worked wonders for us. Although we are not satisfied yet." They must remain as long as the government continues to hold political prisoners, delays the return of exiles and does not put an end to the violence, she said.
Albertina described the work of the ANC Women's League in the anti-apartheid struggle: "This work does not only belong to men in our country but to everybody ... we work hand in hand with men in our country. We are the WL not because we are separated from the ANC but to give voice to the problems and complaints coming from the women."
Albertina described how women within the ANC are refusing to take a back seat. At the recent ANC conference the debate on affirmative action was the most fierce, with the women at one stage threatening to walk out. She said that the ANC was forced to accept affirmative action: "We forced them to put it in black and white in the [ANC] constitution. The women wanted 30% of the national executive, and although we failed, at least it is known that the women are not going to sit down and accept their oppression by men. We nearly made it. We wanted at least 15 women [on the NEC] but instead got 14. That was a step forward for women fighting for their rights."
Speaking to Â鶹´«Ã½ after the meeting, Albertina spoke about why women fought for a quota system to achieve affirmative action. "Although they agreed [to introduce affirmative action], it seems they still feel the women are inferior. Affirmative action hasn't been implemented yet, that was our quarrel with the men in that conference ... We demanded 30% [NEC representation] because we are just starting ... That quota is too low as far as I'm concerned. The attitude of the men was that women must get into the NEC by merit. We differ with them."
Albertina rejected the argument that a quota system was tokenistic. She pointed out that there were many women with enough merit already. A quota system would increase these women's representation. "We've got women who are holding high positions [in the movement] ... While the men were in jail we were running the show ... We made this organisation to be where it is today. Even our head office is being run by women. We want 50% elected to the NEC and you know, in the next election we will be there.
Albertina told Â鶹´«Ã½ that her message to the women's movement in the west was to continue to build a strong women's movement and politically educate women. She added that "you don't have to fight men because some of them are still following old-fashioned tradition. It is our duty to educate our men by doing exactly what the South African women are doing: stand up and be
counted, stand up and do the job. That will teach them. It is the tradition of men [to believe] women are inferior but by working together they are beginning to know that there is no such thing."