Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings

Date: 9 Aug 2000
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings

President Thabo Mbeki unveiled the Women's Monument at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The aim of the monument was to commemorate the role of women in the struggle and marked the 44th anniversary of the march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings. The celebration and commemoration included the unveiling of the monument dedicated to the 1956 march and portraits of some of the women who led that march. The portraits included those of Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Raheema Moosa and Sophie De Bruin. Some of the survivors of the march were present to witness a symbolic victory of their struggle. Earlier on there was a march to the Union Buildings led by Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the veterans of the 1956 march. The monument was executed jointly by sculptor Wilma Cruise and architect Marcus Holmes.

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01Burger, D. (ed)(2002). South Africa Yearbook 2001/02, Pretoria: GCIS, p. 90).
02‘Mbeki unveils women's monument’, from news24, 9 September [Online], Available at www.news24.com [Accessed: 08 August 2013]
03‘UNVEILING OF THE WOMEN'S MONUMENT, WOMEN'S DAY’ [Online], Available at www.gov.za [Accessed: 08 August 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013487

South African History Online (2011) 'Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013487 (Accessed: 28 August 2026).

South African History Online, Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013487, (accessed 28 August 2026).

"Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013487. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Mbeki unveils Women’s Monument at Union Buildings." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013487.