Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo You strike a woman, you strike a rock… in 2000, on the 44th anniversary of the Women’s Defiance Campaign, tribute was paid to the many women who have shaped the history of South Africa. National Women’s Day celebrated the march by some 20 000 women on 9 August 1956. These women converged on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the pass laws, signifying one of the first and the largest mass demonstration organised by women against white minority rule. This commemorative publication celebrates the achievements, the selflessness and the commitment of ordinary women, who contributed in extraordinary ways to South African society today. The publication focuses on women who made contributions in particular fields: those who fought for justice and peace at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries as pioneers, missionaries, medical and nursing attendants; those who did pioneering work in the arts and sciences; the early writers of South African history; the suffragettes who fought for equality and fairness; the trade union women who fought for a living wage; and the early political activists, as well as more recent pioneers in the respective professions.