Seedat and other women leaders including Dora Tamana, Dorothy Nyembe, Fatima Meer and Florence Mkhize led more than 20 000 people in the historic Women’s March to the Union Buildings in 1956.
Seedat, who passed away in 2003, was first jailed in 1946 for her role in the passive resistance campaign in Durban, when her child was only four months old. She was jailed for the second time in 1952 for her role in the Defiance Campaign and was sentenced to one month of hard labour. In 1956, Seedat participated in the historic Women’s March to the Union Buildings on August 9.
In 1964, Fatima and her husband Dawood, a fellow member of the SACP, were banned for five years under the Suppression of Communism Act.
Seedat’s son Azad said it was important to remember his mother and the countless other unsung heroes that had been forgotten by government.
“There are thousands who have made a contribution to the Struggle for freedom and they have been forgotten. As a family we decided to honour her for her sacrifice and vision,” Azad Seedat said.
Former Economic Development MEC Ravi Pillay and Member of the Provincial Legislature Maggie Govender, representatives of the ANC Women’s League and SACP and ANC in the eThekwini region are expected to attend the event at the Stonebridge Community Hall in Phoenix at 11am on October 16.
Azad Seedat said ANC branches in Phoenix would also attend the event.
Asked how his mother would view the contemporary state of the country, he said prior to her death, his mother had warned them that the country would struggle to deal with inequality, poverty and inequality.
“She foretold of the issues that the country is currently going through and she prepared us for these challenges. She always said it was important not to abandon the ANC and to make changes within the organisation.
“She always said that the freedom that had been gained that led to the 1994 election meant nothing in the context of eliminating inequality and that the greatest struggle would start from that point," Seedat said.
