Lilian Diedericks (17 December 1925 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, Sou ...

Red Location The Red Location Museum is a museum in the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The museum was opened to the public on 10 November 2006 as a tribute to the struggle against Apartheid. It is situated in a shack settlement tha ...

– 21 December 2021 in Port Elizabeth) was a South African activist known as a founding member 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 ...

. She was an active shop steward and co-founded the Federation of South African Women in 1954. Her family was forced out of New Brighton during the 1940s. She was one of the four women who led the Women's March on the Union buildings to oppose the pass laws in 1956. Diedericks was an active trade unionist, leader of South African Congress of Trade Unions and South African Communist Party member. She was also one of the four women who led the Women’s March on the Union buildings to oppose the pass laws in 1956 along with struggle icons Rahima Moosa,

Helen Joseph Helen Beatrice Joseph (''née'' Fennell) (8 April 1905 – 25 December 1992) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Born in Sussex, England, Helen graduated with a degree in English from the University of London in 1927 and then departed ...

Lilian Ngoyi Lilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi, "Mma Ngoyi", (25 September 1911 – 13 March 1980) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch ...

and

Sophia De Bruyn Sophia Theresa Williams-de Bruyn (born 1938) is a former South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first recipient of the Women's Award for exceptional national service. She is the last living leader of the Women's March. Early life S ...

. After a protest against the mayor of Port Elizabeth in 1956, Diedericks was arrested for treason, along with

Frances Baard Frances Goitsemang Baard (1 October 1909 – 1997) was a South African (ethnic Tswana) trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front, who was commemorated in the renaming ...

and

Florence Matomela Florence Matomela (1910–1969) was a South African people, South African anti-pass laws, pass law activist, communist, civil rights campaigner, African National Congress, ANC veteran, teacher and mother who dedicated her life to fighting against A ...

“60 Iconic Women — The people behind the 1956 Women's March to Pretoria (21-30)” Mail &. Guardian,25 August 2016. Online
/ref> They were imprisoned at the Fort in Johannesburg and acquitted in 1961. Diedericks was banned by the apartheid government, from 1967 to 1968. The municipal house Brister House in Port Elizabeth was renamed the Lilian Diedericks Building in 2009. Lilian Diedericks lives in Gelvandale, Port Elizabeth. She died on the 21 December 2021 in her house in Port Elizabeth.

Honours

The

Red Location Museum The Red Location Museum is a museum in the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The museum was opened to the public on 10 November 2006 as a tribute to the struggle against Apartheid. It is situated in a shack settlement that ...

in New Brighton held a year-long exhibition dedicated to these women of the liberation struggle, by paying tribute to

, Nontuthuzelo Mabala,

Veronica Sobukwe Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe (27 July 1927 – 15 August 2018) was a South African nurse who played an integral role in the Defiance Campaign. Her husband, Robert Sobukwe, was a prominent political dissident. Her family was constantly harassed by th ...

, Lilian Diedricks and

Nosipho Dastile Nosipho Dastile (1938–2009) was a community and anti-Apartheid activist in the small town of Uitenhage, just outside Port Elizabeth. She was elected councillor under the banner of what was then the new democratically constituted Uitenhage Transit ...

.B.Sands. Herald Live.Tribute to women warriors.http://www.heraldlive.co.za/the-algoa-sun/2014/01/25/tribute-to-women-warriors/ Accessed Thursday, June 29, 2017 On April 28, 2018, Diedricks was honored by the National Orders of Pretoria for her activism.Gillham, Shaun (2018). "Top honours for PE women." ''Herald Live'' (South Africa) April 20, 2018.
Retrieved September 21, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diedricks, Lilian 1925 births 2021 deaths South African activists Members of the Order of Luthuli South African women activists South African trade unionists Members of the South African Communist Party South African prisoners and detainees People from Port Elizabeth