Frances Goitsemang Baard (1 October 1909 – 1997) was a South African (ethnic Tswana) trade unionist, organiser for the

African National Congress Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from b ...

and a Patron of the United Democratic Front, who was commemorated in the renaming of the Diamantveld District Municipality ( Kimberley) as the Frances Baard District Municipality. Schoeman Street in Pretoria was also renamed in her honour. This heroine is the reason we celebrate

National Women's Day National Women's Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August. The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country's pass laws that requir ...

today in South Africa.

Background and education

Baard (also referred to as ''Frances Maswabi (or Masuabi)'') was born Frances Maswabi (or Masuabi), in Green Point, Beaconsfield, Kimberley, on 1 October 1909Gastrow, S. 1985. Who's who in South African Politics. Ravan Press. (other sources suggest 1901). Her father was Herman Maswabi from Ramotswa in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

, who had gone to Kimberley to work on the mines, while her mother, Sarah Voss, was a Tswana person from Kimberley. She married Lucas Baard in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

in 1942, having known him from school days in Kimberley.Baard, Frances with Schreiner, Barbie. 1986. ''My Spirit is Not Banned.'' Harare: Zimbabwe Publishing House. She attended the Racecourse Primary School and the Lyndhurst Road School in Malay Camp, Kimberley, before enrolling for a short time at Kimberley's famous

Perseverance School The Perseverance School, Kimberley, was founded as such in 1883 but might be seen as having arisen from the St Cyprian's Mission School dating back to the early 1870s. Until 1917 it was officially called St Cyprian’s (E.C.) Mission School, altho ...

(cut short owing to the death of her father). She worked briefly as a teacher and then, moving to Port Elizabeth, as a domestic servant and a factory worker.

Political awakening

It was at this time that Baard became an activist in the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, which she joined in 1948, and a trade unionist, as a result of her experiences of oppression and exploitation under

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. She was influenced by

Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) also as well the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life ...

and Ray Alexander. She was an organiser in the

in 1952 at the time of the

Defiance Campaign The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, ...

, serving later in various posts including Secretary and Treasurer of the League's Port Elizabeth branch. In the mid 1950s she served as National Treasurer of the Women's League and was also an executive committee member and local Port Elizabeth branch President of the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

(FEDSAW).

Freedom Charter and Women's March

Baard was actively involved in 1955 in the drafting of the

Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...

and was one of the leaders of the Women's march to the

Union Buildings The Union Buildings ( af, Uniegebou) form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the northern end of ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

on 9 August 1956 in protest against the

pass laws In South Africa, pass laws were a form of internal passport system designed to segregate the population, manage urbanization and allocate migrant labor. Also known as the natives' law, pass laws severely limited the movements of not only blac ...

“A pass is this little book you must get when you are 16 and it says where you can work, and where you can be, and if you have got work. You can't get a job without this book. And you can only get a job where they stamp your pass to say 'Johannesburg' or 'Pretoria' and so on. You must carry it with you all the time because the police can ask you, 'Where is your pass?' any time, and then you must show them. If you haven't got your pass, they put you in jail for some days or else you must pay some money to get out." – Frances Baard, in "My Spirit is not Banned"

In 1956 she was one of the defendants in the

Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not gu ...

and became an executive committee member of the

South African Congress of Trade Unions The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in March 1955, after right wing unions dissolved the South African Trades and Labour Council in 1954 ...

(SACTU).

Imprisonment

She was arrested in 1960 and then again in 1963 when she was kept in solitary confinement for 12 months. In 1964 she was arrested yet again under the

Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribe ...

for her involvement with ANC activities, being sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Her children were taken care of by relatives in Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.

Banishment and subsequent political activity

Following her release in 1969, she was banished to Boekenhout, moving two years later when her banning order expired to

Mabopane Mabopane is a residential suburb in South Africa. It is situated in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, to the north of Pretoria in Gauteng. History Proclamation Mabopane was proclaimed in 1959 as a black-only residential settlement by the th ...

(near Pretoria) where she died in 1997. In August 1983 Frances Baard attended the launch of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Cape Town, being elected a Patron and executive member. Baard was a member of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

and of its Women's Guild.

Commemorated in the place of her birth and elsewhere

In June 2001, the "Diamantveld District Council", Kimberley, was renamed Frances Baard District Municipality in honour of Frances Baard. The suggestion to recognise Frances Baard arose originally from a staff-member at Kimberley's McGregor Museum. In commemoration of this daughter of Kimberley and the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

, and of her role in the Women's March on 9 August 1956, a bronze statue of her was unveiled in Kimberley by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Mrs

Hazel Jenkins Hazel Gertrude Jenkins is a South African politician and former Premier of the Northern Cape province. She served as Premier from May 2009 until she officially stood down in April 2013, following a stroke. The motion to recognise her stepping do ...

, on 9 August 2009. The inscription on the granite plinth cites the famous remark from her autobiography:

"My spirit is not banned – I still say I want freedom in my lifetime."

Baard is also remembered in the renaming of Schoeman Street (named after State President Stephanus Schoeman) in

, where however the spelling in street signs and on maps is given as "Francis Baard". Baard's grand daughter Mummy Baard remarked that "the Tshwane Metro Council is right in using 'Francis' on its new street name." Asked why, in contrast, the Frances Baard District Council uses a different spelling, she suggested that "maybe they decided to go for the 'coloured version' of the name."Baard family settles confusion – ''Pretoria News'' May 16 2012
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baard, Frances 1909 births 1997 deaths South African Tswana people People from Kimberley, Northern Cape History of South Africa South African women activists Members of the Order of Luthuli South African activists Tswana people