Sophia Theresa Williams-de Bruyn (born 1938) is a former
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 ...
n anti-
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 ...
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 Women's March may refer to:
* Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris
* Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London
* Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C.
* Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...
.
Early life
Sophia Theresa Williams-De Bruyn was born in Villageboard, an area that was home to people of many different nationalities.
She was the child of Frances Elizabeth and Henry Ernest Williams.
She says that her mother's compassion for others helped her develop a sense of empathy.
When her father joined the army to fight in World War II, Sophia’s mother moved the family to a new housing development, specifically built for
coloureds
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
, called Schauder. She continued her education at Saint James Catholic School.
She dropped out of school and started working in the textile industry.
Workers in the Van Lane Textile factory asked her to help "solve their problems with factory bosses," and she eventually became the shop steward.
She later became an executive member of the Textile Workers Union 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 ...
.
Political career
Williams-De Bruyn was a founding 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 to ...
(SACTU).
After the government introduced the
Population Registration Act
The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics as part of the system of apartheid.
Social rights, political rights, educational ...
in the 1950s, she was appointed as a full-time organizer of the Coloured People's Congress in
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 ...
.
On August 9, 1956, she led the
march of 20 000 women on 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 ...
of
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
along with
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
[Blue plaque on the front of Rahima Moosa House mounted in 2013 as part of Johannesburg Heritage](_blank)
Albertina Sisulu
Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu ( Thethiwe; 21 October 1918 – 2 June 2011) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and the wife of fellow activist Walter Sisulu (1912–2003). She was affectionately known as "Ma Sisulu" throughout her li ...
and Bertha Gxowa to protest the requirement that women carry pass books as part of 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 black ...
.
Sophia was only 18 years old, making her the youngest of the four leaders.
These women ducked through the guards at the doors to deliver their petitions outside the ministers’ doors.
After the Coloured Population Act was passed, Williams-De Bruyn was assigned by the Coloured People's Congress to work with
Shulamith Muller
Shulamith Muller (née Movshowitz, December 1922 - July 1978) was a South African lawyer, communist, and anti-apartheid activist. Muller was one of the attorneys for the 1956 Treason Trial.
Biography
Muller was born in Pretoria in December 1922 ...
on issues relating to pass laws.
In 1959, she married Henry Benny Nato De Bruyn and they had three children. Her husband was also an activist in the liberation movement, and an
Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier. Their home became a haven for other anti-apartheid activists such as
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 ...
,
Elias Motsoaledi
Elias Mathope Motsoaledi (26 July 1924 – 9 May 1994) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and one of the eight men sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial in July 1963 and paternal uncle to South African politician and m ...
and
Wilton Mkwayi
Wilton Zimasile Mkwayi (17 December 1923 – 24 July 2004) was an African National Congress veteran and one of the first six members of Umkonto weSizwe to be sent for military training.
Early life
Wilton “Bri-Bri” Zimasile Mkwayi was born ...
.
By 1963, her husband was forced into exile in Lusaka, Zambia where he was appointed Chairman of the Regional Political Committee of the ANC.
She joined him six years later and went on to complete her studies and obtain her teacher diploma by 1977, all while working as an administrator for the ANC in Lusaka.
She was one of the founder members of the ANC education council formed in 1980. The council set the curriculum for the
Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College
The Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO), was an educational institution established by the exiled African National Congress (ANC) in 1978 at Mazimbu, Tanzania. It provided primary and secondary education to students who had fled South Afri ...
. The college was established in 1978 by the exiled
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) in Mazimbu,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
.
She returned to
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 ...
with her husband after the ANC was unbanned
Her husband served as South Africa’s ambassador to Jordan until he died in 1999.
She was a member of the Commission of Gender Equality before joining the Gauteng Legislature in 2004 and becoming its deputy speaker from 2005 until 2009, before moving to national parliament.
Legacy
She addressed a large crowd on the 60th-anniversary commemoration of the Women’s March in 1956 in Pretoria on August 9, 2016.
In 1999, Williams-De Bruyn was awarded the
Ida Mntwana
Ida Fiyo Mntwana (1903 – March 1960) was a South African anti-apartheid and women's right activist.
Biography
Mntwana worked as a dressmaker and became active in politics in the 1950s. After Madie Hall Xuma resigned as national president of ...
Award in Silver.
In 2001, she was the first to be awarded the Women's Award for exceptional national service and in the same year received the
Mahatma Gandhi Award
The Gandhi Global Family medals and awards are awards offered by the Gandhi Global Family for contributions to society.
Gandhi Global Family (GGF) Medals/Awards
Mahatma Gandhi Awards
The Mahatma Gandhi Award is the highest award conferred ...
.
She is currently a provincial legislator in
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
Province for the
ANC
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 ...
.
References
External links
Profile of an Icon: Sophia Williams de BruynInterview with Sophia Williams-De Bruyn(audio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams-De Bruyn, Sophia
1938 births
Living people
Textile workers
South African trade unionists
B
21st-century South African women politicians
20th-century South African politicians
21st-century South African politicians