Browse the AAM Archive

Liz Hollis, AAM staff member and activist, died tragically in February 1986. The newsletter celebrated Liz’s life and carried tributes from her friends and co-workers. A round-up of local events celebrating International Women’s Day showed the growing support for the AAM all over Britain. News briefs from inside South Africa included reports on amendments to Winnie Mandela’s bail conditions, a women’s march to protest against the harassment of school pupils and the 30,000-strong funeral for ANC member Molly Blackburn in Port Elizabeth. 

Issue 26 carried an interview with Winnie Mandela, in which she endorsed the call for international sanctions against South Africa. It asked readers to help raise funds to buy sanitary towels for Namibian women living in SWAPO camps in Angola and Zambia, and to support the campaign for the release of the Sharpeville Six, sentenced to death for taking part in a township demonstration. It reported on the affiliation of Women Against Pit Closures to the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Women from all over Britain joined the march to a Festival in London’s Clapham Common, coming together in a special women’s section. From inside South Africa the newsletter carried an interview with Nozizwe Madlala, Chair of the Natal Organisation of Women and a letter from Helene Passtoors, a Belgian citizen convicted of terrorism.

Issue 28 focused on the situation of black women workers under apartheid, with an article on women’s struggle for a living age and for political rights, and an interview with Mary Mkhanazi about the formation of the domestic workers union, South African Domestic Workers Association. It also reported on a meeting to celebrate South Africa Women’s Day, 9 August, in Hackney, East London.

News briefings on women’s resistance to apartheid inside South Africa included reports about squatter camps in the Western Cape, the arrest and imprisonment of women activists, and violence against women and children by South African police and soldiers in Namibia. A round-up of campaigning activities in Britain reported on material aid collections and a conference organised by the National Assembly of Women. The newsletter asked for support for an AAM Women’s Committee resolution to the AAM AGM proposing the appointment of an AAM Women’s Organiser.

News briefings from South Africa and Namibia reported on the launch of a trade union for domestic workers (SADWU), the arrest of striking women hospital workers and the rape of women in northern Namibia by South African soldiers. The issue advertised a conference on women in Southern Africa organised by the National Assembly of Women and the Women’s International Democratic Federation. It highlighted the detention of over 8000 children following the declaration of a State of Emergency in South Africa in June 1986. It reported on the refusal by some women’s magazines in Britain to carry ads from the TUC calling for a consumer boycott of South African goods.

Issue 31 highlighted a resolution passed by the AAM AGM recommending an increased profile for women’s work in the Movement. It reported on a conference on women in Southern Africa organised by the Women’s International Democratic Federation and carried an interview with Makhosazana Njobe from the ANC Women’s Section. Under the headline ‘Front Line Women Seek Trade Links’ it advertised earrings, textiles and handicrafts sourced by AA Enterprises from women’s co-ops in Angola and Zimbabwe.

Issue 32 featured LINKS, a women’s organisation that encouraged liaison among women’s groups set up to campaign on single issues, and reported on a meeting to celebrate International Women’s Day organised by the AAM Women’s Committee. It asked women to support the AAM’s sanctions campaign by taking part in its National Convention for Sanctions Against South Africa.