In the run-up to the elections, we’re celebrating #21Sheroes – some of the women who fought a racist, apartheid state to help win our freedoms. Their resistance, courage & protest inspired a legacy we honour in Freedom Month. They also remind us never to take our political rights for granted. Follow #21Sheroes for more. 

A political activist for most of her life, Bertha Gxowa played a key role in the ANCYL & fought for the rights of women, exploited workers & the poor. In 1956, she was at the forefront of the iconic Women’s March against pass laws. Though she endured detentions & imprisonment under apartheid rule, she kept fighting for a better South Africa. We carry her baton forward by voting to build on her vision.