Frances Baard

This article describes the South African politician. For the district named after her in the North Cape Province, see Frances Baard (District) .

Frances Goitsemang Baard (* 1901 or October 1, 1909 in Beaconsfield, today Kimberley , South Africa ; † 1997 in Mabopane near Pretoria , South Africa; born Frances Maswabi ) was a South African trade unionist , politician and anti- apartheid activist. She was a leading member of the African National Congress Women's League and a promoter of the United Democratic Front . In memory of them, the district was Diamantveld named after her.

Life

Frances Baard, also called MaBaard , was born as Frances Maswabi (also Masuabi) in Green Point in Beaconsfield (now part of Kimberley). Her father was Herman Maswabi, who originally came to Kimberley from Ramotswa , Botswana to work in the mines. Baard's mother was Sarah Voss, a Tswana from Kimberley.

Baard attended Racecourse Primary School and Lyndhurst Road School in Malay Camp (a suburb of Kimberley similar to District Six Cape Town ). She then attended the well-known Perseverance School for a short time until her father's death . She worked briefly as a teacher and after moving to Port Elizabeth as a domestic and factory worker. There she married her school friend Lucas Baard in 1942.

Political career

At that time she became an active member of the ANC , which she joined in 1948, and a trade unionist. This was their reaction to their experiences of oppression and exploitation during apartheid . Their role models were Raymond Mhlaba and Ray Alexander .

From 1952 she organized activities of the African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) and later took on various offices, such as the finance or management of the branch of the ANCWL in Port Elizabeth. In the mid-1950s she took over the financial management of the national women's league . She was also a board member of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).

Freedom Charter and Women's March

Baard was involved in drafting the Freedom Charter in 1955 . She was one of the leaders of the women's protest march to the Union Buildings government seat in Pretoria, held on August 9, 1956 in protest against the Pass Laws .

“A pass is this little book you must get when you are 16 and it says where you can work, and where you can be, and if you have got work. You can't get a job without this book. And you can only get a job where they stamp your pass to say 'Johannesburg' or 'Pretoria' and so on. You must carry it with you all the time because the police can ask you, 'Where is your pass?' any time, and then you must show them. If you haven't got your pass, they put you in jail for some days or else you must pay some money to get out. "

“A pass is that little book that you have to get when you are 16 and it tells you where you can work and where you can be and if you have to work. You can't get a job without this book. And you can only work where you have a stamp with 'Johannesburg' or 'Pretoria' or something. You have to have it with you at all times because the police can always ask you 'where's your passport' and then you have to show it. If you don't have your passport, they'll put you in jail for a few days or you'll have to pay money to get out. "

- Frances Baard : My Spirit is not Banned (autobiography)

In 1956, she was among the defendants in the Treason Trial , when Nelson Mandela and 155 other anti-apartheid opponents were arrested and charged with treason. In the same year she became a board member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU, German " South African Congress of Trade Unions ").

captivity

She was arrested for the first time in 1960 and arrested again three years later; she spent twelve months in solitary confinement. In 1964 she was arrested again for her work for the ANC, citing the Suppression of Communism Act , and sentenced to five years in prison. Relatives in Port Elizabeth and Kimberley took care of their children.

Exile and subsequent political activities

After her release in 1969, she was exiled to Boekenhout . The ban expired two years later. She then moved to Mabopane near Pretoria, where she lived until the end of her life. In August 1983 Baard took part in the founding of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Cape Town. There she was elected patron and board member.

Frances Baard was a member of the Methodist Church and its Women's Guild .

souvenir

In 1999, Baard was posthumously awarded the South African Order of Meritorious Service in silver. In June 2001, the district was Diamantveld in the province of North Cape to Baard honors in Frances Baard District Municipality renamed. The suggestion came from an employee of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley.

In memory of the daughter of the City of Kimberley and the Northern Cape Province and her role in the women's protest march on August 9, 1956, her statue was unveiled by the Provincial Prime Minister Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley on National Women's Day 2009 . The inscription on the granite base is a famous quote from Baard's autobiography:

"My spirit is not banned - I still say I want freedom in my lifetime."

"My spirit is not banished - I still say I want freedom while I'm still alive."

- Frances Baard

Web links

• Kurzbiografie (English)
• My spirit is not banned . Baard's autobiography

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Shelagh Gastrow: Who's who in South African Politics . Ravan Press, Johannesburg 1985.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Frances Baard, Barbie Schreiner: My Spirit is Not Banned . Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare 1986.
3. ^ A. Du Toit: Baard only honored after death . In: Noordkaap . August 19, 2009.
4. ↑ List of recipients of the medal 1999 (English), accessed on August 25, 2018
5. ^ McGregor Museum Annual Report (2001-2002) . S.  24 .
6. ^ Hazel Jenkins : Women's Day Celebrations and Unveiling of the Statue Frances Baard. August 9, 2009, accessed July 22, 2010 .  
7. ↑ MaBaard gets a special place . In: Diamond Fields Advertiser . August 11, 2009, p.  3 .