Black women in what was then the Orange Free State protested when they were included in Pass legislation previously reserved for African men only. The Executive Committee of the Orange Free State Native and Coloured Women's Association sent a petition to Governor-General Gladstone. Women pleaded with him to persuade the Prime Minister and Minister of Native Affairs to relax the pass laws. By 1918, this matter was discussed with the Prime Minister, Louis Botha. This law was subsequently relaxed until the 1950s.
eventREF E-0011360Revised
27 January 1914
Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws
Black and Coloured women protesting against pass laws in Bloemfontein, Free State in 1913.
- Updated
- 20 Jul 2026
Black and Coloured women protesting against pass laws in Bloemfontein, Free State in 1913.
How we know this
- 01Bobby-Evans, A., Woman's Anti-Pass Law Campaigns in South Africa, from About.com, [online], Available at africanhistory.about.com [Accessed: 08 January 2014]
- 02Grisim, R., (2013), South African Bantu women win anti-pass campaign in Orange Free State, 1912-1918, from Global Nonviolent Action Database, 21 March, [online], Available at nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu [Accessed: 08 January 2014]
Last updated · 20 Jul 2026
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011360
South African History Online (2011) 'Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011360 (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
South African History Online, Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011360, (accessed 8 October 2026).
"Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011360. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011360.
Also on 27 January
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