Dr. Zainab Asvat (born c. 1920 - 30 November 2013) was a South African 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. Asvat was trained as a medical doctor, but was politically active most of her life. Asvat was the first

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

woman to become a doctor in

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 ...

. Her husband, Dr.Zain Kazi is a doctor and secretary of

Transvaal Indian Congress The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) was an organisation founded in 1921 in Natal Province, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa. The congress is famous for its strong participation by Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent South African India ...

Early life and education

Asvat was one of eleven children of Ebrahim and Fatima Asvat. Asvat's father took his daughter to political meetings when she was a girl and this helped her become politically active early on. She was the first Muslim girl to attend high school in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

In the 1940s. She studied medicine at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

after being influenced by

Yusuf Dadoo Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo (5 September 1909 – 19 September 1983) was a South African Communist and an anti-apartheid activist. During his life, he was chair of both the South African Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party ...

who returned from his medical studies in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Career

In 1946, the South African government passed the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act No. 28, which was also called the "Ghetto Act." This law made it illegal for Indian citizens of South Africa to own land except in "exempted areas." Asvat took a year off of her third year of school, in 1946 to travel to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

where she was a part of the Passive Resistance Campaign. During the campaign, resisters set up tents at the corner of Umbilo Road and Gale Street in Durban on 13 June 1946. The group was consist of eighteen participators, six of whom were women: Zainab Asvat, Zohra Bhayat, Amina Pahad, Zubeida Patel of Johannesburg, Lakshmi Govender, Veeramah Pather of Durban. The leaders of this resistance were

Monty Naicker Gangathura Mohambry Naicker (30 September 1910 – 12 January 1978) was a medical doctor and a South African anti-apartheid activist of Indian Tamil descent. Early life His father was a trader, exporting bananas. He studied in Durban at ''Mari ...

, President of the

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

(NIC) and M.D Naidoo, Secretary of the NIC. Her sister,

Amina Cachalia Amina Cachalia, OLB (née Asvat; 28 June 1930 – 31 January 2013) was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, women's rights activist, and politician. She was a longtime friend and ally of former President Nelson Mandela. Her late husband w ...

came with her school friends came to cheer and sing for the group. On 16 June 1946, their tents were destroyed, stolen and Asvat was injured when a tent fell on her. Five people were beaten unconscious by the assault. Zainab made a fiery speech and said "Hooligans or no hooligans, carry on we must, and carry on we shall". The assault increased support for the resistance and thousands of people come to the tent to show their solidarity. She was arrested briefly on the 28th, but released by the night. This arrest had an influence on Asvat's younger sister,

, who later also became an anti-apartheid activist. The day after the arrest, Asvat addressed a gathering of 800 women in the Avalon Cinema, inspiring the group to continue to resist. In July, she was arrested with other resisters and was sent to prison until early October. After she was released from prison, Asvat, PK Naidoo and Suriakala Patel elected to the TIC committee and became one of the first women ever elected onto the TIC Committee. Asvat then returned to medical school and it wasn't until the 1956 that she became active again politically. Asvat, like many Indian women, joined 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 ...

in order to fight apartheid in the 1950s. She organized a "network of support" for the families of the 156 activists who were arrested in December 1956. Asvat also provided meals for the accused activists during their trials. In December 1963, Asvat organized a 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 ...

, where she and other activists protested against group area relocations and National Council for Indian. The police set their dogs on the marchers and charged them with batons. In 1964, she was banned from South Africa for five years. She then found out that she would be subject to another five-year ban. Asvat and her husband, Dr. Aziz Kazi, received exit permits and moved to London, seeking

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

Later life and death

In 2008, her role in opposing apartheid was part of a photographic exhibition called "Our Triumphs and Our Tears," which included portraits by Gisële Wulfsohn and was displayed at the Slave Lodge Cape Town. Asvat died in London on 30 November 2013.

References

External links

Personal Reminiscences of Zainab Asvat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asvat, Zainab 1920s births 2013 deaths University of the Witwatersrand alumni South African women physicians South African physicians South African people of Indian descent South African women activists Muslim South African anti-apartheid activists