Maureen Thelma Watson (née Eastwood; 15 September 1925 – 29 August 1994) was a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n politician. A Bulawayo native, she was a housewife and

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

advocate before entering politics. Elected to the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was found ...

in 1958, she was the second woman ever elected to Parliament. She was reelected in 1962 but opted not to run for reelection in 1965. A member of the United Federal Party, and later the

Rhodesia Party The Responsible Government Association (RGA), called the Rhodesia Party from 1923, was a political party in Southern Rhodesia. Founded in 1917, it initially advocated responsible government for Southern Rhodesia within the British Empire, as op ...

, she was a moderate who opposed the conservative agenda of the

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front was a right-wing conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to that country's unilateral declaration of independence, and the rul ...

Early life and family

Maureen Thelma Eastwood was born on 15 September 1925 in Bulawayo,

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. Her parents were Elizabeth "Bessie" (née Dempsey), a

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

native, and William Hives Eastwood, born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Her father was a businessman and Member of the Legislative Council who served as a cabinet minister of the portfolios of Health, Education, and Transport in the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

. She attended Eveline High School in Bulawayo and Kingsmead College in Johannesburg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. On 10 November 1945, she married Robert France Watson, a South African who worked for

Rhodesian Railways The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system. It is headquartered in the city of Bulawayo. In addition to the headquarters, it has ...

. She became a housewife and they had one son and two daughters.

Politics and activism

Before entering politics, Watson was a

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

advocate and the vice-chair of the Bulawayo Family Planning Association. In 1955, the association opened the first

clinic for whites in Bulawayo in the Margaret Roe Child Welfare Centre. In the 1958 election, Watson, the United Federal Party candidate, was elected to the

, representing the Hillside constituency. She lost the first round to

Dominion Party The Dominion Party was a political party in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, led by Winston Field. History The party was established in 1956 by a merger of several political groups and the remains of the Confederate Party, which had d ...

incumbent Jack Graham Pain, placing second out of three candidates. She went up against Pain in the second count, winning with 52% of the vote. This made her the second woman ever elected to Parliament (the first, Tawsie Jollie, was elected in 1923). Watson was reelected in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

with 56% of the vote, defeating

candidate William Redpath Kinleyside. Nevertheless, Watson's United Federal Party lost power that election to Rhodesian Front, who gained a solid majority of 35 seats, compared to the UFP's 29. In Parliament, Watson opposed racial discrimination and the conservative agenda of the Rhodesian Front, which was founded in 1962 by whites who opposed any transition toward majority black rule in Rhodesia. In 1961, she called for

liquor laws Alcohol laws are laws in relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol (also known formally as ethanol) or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) ci ...

to be applied equally regardless of race. She also continued her advocacy for birth control and women's autonomy. In 1963, she opposed legislation that banned "any native" from having

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...

with a "white woman or girl." Watson, the sole woman MP, complained that "this Act onstitutesan unwarranted act of paternalism by a largely male Parliament against the European women of this country." After the United Federal Party dissolved in 1963, Watson joined the

, formed by Roy Welensky and other moderates who opposed the Rhodesian Front agenda and the looming possibility of

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

. In 1964, Watson announced she would not run for reelection in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. In the late 1960s, she served on the board of the National Free Library of Rhodesia. Maureen Watson died of

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

in Bulawayo on 29 August 1994, at the age of 68.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Maureen Thelma 1925 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Zimbabwean women politicians 20th-century Zimbabwean politicians 20th-century Zimbabwean people Birth control activists Deaths from emphysema Housewives Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia People from Bulawayo Rhodesian activists Rhodesian people of British descent Rhodesian people of South African descent Rhodesia Party politicians Rhodesian politicians United Federal Party politicians White Rhodesian people Zimbabwean people of English descent Zimbabwean people of South African descent 20th-century Zimbabwean women