The Constitution Hill Women’s Gaol

By STAFF REPORTER
JOHANNESBURG, (Gauteng Gaurdian) – SIBONGILE Mkhabela, Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, will mark a return to the infamous ail decades after her release.
This will be among the highlights of the ongoing commemorations of the Women’s Month.
The Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg will host a special night tour of the now iconic Women’s Jail next Thursday.
This tour, facilitated by one of the prison’s former detainees, will be a personal journey of the atrocities that women have endured through the dark time of apartheid.
This will be followed by a storytelling Imbawula Series, influenced by the African tradition of telling tales around the fire. Amongst others, the Imbawula series will feature Mkhabela, who has spent time as a prisoner in the Women’s Jail, as well as a reading session from the prison diary of Fatima Meer, a former political prisoner.
Entrance is free but booking is essential.
The Women’s Jail walls house the stories of thousands of women who were held there for many reasons, from political involvement, transgressing pass laws and brewing beer.The women faced multiple indignities.
They were not supplied with panties, for example, and they also bathed in communal outdoor showers beneath water that only ran cold, even in the winter months, and which were visible from Johannesburg’s surrounding office blocks.
– Gaurdian