Ayesha
Bibi “Asa” Dawood
1927 -
| Names: | Dawood Ayesha Bibi “Asa” |
| Date of Birth: | 31 January 1927 |
| Date of Death: | |
| Place of Birth: | Worcester, Cape Province, South Africa |
| Place of Death: | |
| Gender: | Female |
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Early Life:
Bibi was born in Worcester, Cape Province on the 31 January 1927 to an
Indian Merchant and a Malay woman. As a young girl, Bibi used to read
the newspaper for her father and from that she started hating the Apartheid
Laws, especially Group Areas Act and the Pass Laws. In 1951, when a
call came from a trade union movement to stage a one-day strike, she
decided to throw in her weight against the unjust laws. She went to
the trade union office and asked to be a volunteer to help organise
the strike. The strike was a success.
Career:
Shortly
after the strike, Bibi and her friends formed the Worcester United
Action Committee and the 24 year-old Bibi was elected secretary
to the Chairman, John Alwyn.
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The Committee took up the problems related to pass laws, housing and increasing rentals. During the Defiance campaign, Bibi worked closely with the ANC in calling for volunteers to defy Apartheid laws. By July 1952, Worcester had taken lead in the Western Cape, with about 800 defiers signed up and Bibi’s home was the centre of the campaign. Bibi then linked up with Ray Alexander, a Food and Canning Worker’s Union leader to try and unionize workers in industries other than food. By 1953 Bibi had become a member of the ANC and was sent by Committee of Women, a predecessor of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) to Copenhagen for an International Democratic Federation Conference for Women. During her trip, she visited factories, addressed meetings and went to India to visit her paternal grandmother. It is during her time in India that she met Yusuf Mukadam, who would be her husband.
In 1955, Bibi and John Alwyn were charged with incitement and arrested for nine months in terms of the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1956, Bibi was arrested and charged with high treason with 155 others, this is where she connected with the most eminent leaders of the oppressed. In 1961 Bibi married Yusuf who had followed her back to South Africa from India, together they had a daughter and then a son. Shortly thereafter, Yusuf was arrested for entering the country illegally and the security police told Bibi that her husband would only be able to stay on if she agreed to work for them. She refused and was promptly served with an exit permit that permanently endorsed her out of the country. She left for India in 1968 where she and her family were granted full citizenship and they stayed with Yusuf’s family in the remote village of Sarwa.
Later Life:
During her stay in
India, Bibi and her family fought hard to return to South
Africa, eventually her children were issued with South African
passports. After fighting for 22 years Bibi returned to South
Africa as one of the thousands of exiles when all political parties
were
unbanned. She now lives in Worcester.