1911 - 1980

President of the African National Congress Women’s League, President of the Federation of South African Women (FedSAW), Leader of the 1956 Women’s March, 1956 Treason Trialist

Pretoria-born Lilian Ngoyi was one of the most prominent and respected female leaders of the ANC in the 1950s. She played a leading role in key liberation events of the decade, including the 1952 Defiance Campaign, the foundation of the Federation of South African Women in 1954 and the 1956 Womens March in Pretoria. The 20,000 strong march remains one of the largest multiracial gatherings of women in South Africas history and changed womens participation in the countrys politics forever.

In March 1956 Ngoyi was chosen as Drum Magazines Masterpiece in Bronze personality, under the headline: Ngoyi springs to fame as the new tough type of woman leader. At the end of that year she became the first woman ever to be elected to the ANC National Executive Committee.

Over a period of 18 years, Ngoyi was confined by repeated banning orders to her small house in Orlando, Soweto, until her death in 1980. Said to almost rock men out of their pants when she speaks, fellow activist Frances Baard recalled how Ngoyi once thrilled a crowd of more than 6,000 people without the help of a microphone.

Did You Know?

A dress-maker by trade Ngoyi designed and made the collared blouse she wore for the 1956 womens march which became the official uniform of the ANC Womens League and is still worn today.