Day of solidarity with South African and Namibian women observed on 9 August.

Day of Solidarity with South African and Namibian women observed on 9 August

The Special Committee against Apartheid on 9 August observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Struggle of Women of South Africa and Namibia at a solemn meeting in New York. The Day was proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1981 to commemorate a demonstration held on 9 August 1956 in Pretoria, South Africa, to protest the expansion of pass laws to African women.

The Committee observed a minute of silence "in honour of Victoria Mxenge, Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fidelo Mhlawuli and all those whose lives have been brutally taken away in the struggle against the racist regime during the past year." It also viewed a videotaped interview with Winnie Mandela, the wife of the imprisoned leader of the African National Congress of south Africa (ANC).

The Committee's Acting Chairman, Serge Elie Charles (Haiti), said 9 August had taken on added significance in light of the state of emergency declared on 21 July in South Africa. Among the first victims was a woman, Victoria Mxenge, who had been brutally gunned down in front of her home. She was one of the key attorneys for the United Democratic Front officials charged with high treason whose trial had resumed on 5 August. On 6 August, the police had hurled tear gas canisters into the home of Mrs. Winnie Mandela, ransacked the house, and arrested Mrs. Mandela's sister along with 30 other people. The time had come for the international community to go beyond mere condemnations, declarations and resolutions.

Mittah Seperepere, of the Women's Section of ANC, observed that to the black women of South Africa apartheid meant broken family lives as a result of the migratory labour system, or being jailed--either with or without their children--for not having a pass. The racist regime had embarked on a policy of genocide through the wide use of contraceptives (including...