Women and the Rand Revolt, 1922
The Rand Revolt was a white miners' strike on the Witwatersrand in 1922 which was triggered in reaction to the mine-owners' money-saving plan to dismiss 2 000 white workers and replace them with poorly-paid black workers. It was thus the white mine-workers, who were directly involved in the revolt. What is interesting is that in his article in the Journal of Southern African Studies, historian Jeremy Krikler (1996, 349-372) maintains that the women , the wives and daughters of the affected miners, also took their place. He relates incidents in which the women adopted a highly militant stance, frequently using their sex to protect their men in confrontations. He shows that they also challenged the police and on numerous occasions dished out humiliating retribution on would-be strikebreakers.
Although few specific names are mentioned, a woman called Phyllis Clements was later apparently sentenced for her actions against ‘scabs', and a Mrs Koch was alleged to have taken similar steps. Mary Fitzgerald, a flamboyant CPSA member known as ‘Pickhandle Mary' is reputed to have gained her nickname because of her skill in wielding a pickhandle against strikebreakers.
Mary FitzGerald. © Museum Africa
