Thursday, June 6th, 7pm

Xoliswa Sithole, South Africa, 2018, 68min

Xoliswa Sithole, takes us on a historical journey through time in this documentary that connects female resistance movements in South Africa.
The starting point of the documentary is 9th August 1956, which marks the day that 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in protest again the dehumanising apartheid law that required all Africans to carry a pass. “You have touched a woman, you have struck a rock,” they chanted, a mantra which has continued to stand as testimony to the resilience of many remarkable South African female activists, including Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Albertina Sisulu.
From the female resistance movements of the 1950s, the documentary takes us up to the end of apartheid, reminding us of the unwavering strength and courage of Winnie Madikizela Mandela and other women from the ANC, and into the contemporary era with the continued struggles against patriarchy fought through the ‘fallist’ movements. While women’s voices in political movements are often silenced and marginalised, the film gives a powerful platform to feminist activists, scholars, students and political leaders, to highlight the work that women continue to do in fighting patriarchy, race and class oppression.

This program is part of the African Film Festival.