Born in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, in 1938, Sophia Theresa Williams-De Bruyn rose from working in the Van Lane Textile factory to become an executive member of the Textile Workers Union in Port Elizabeth. She was a founding member of the South African Congress of Trade Union (SACTU), the predecessor of the Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU). In 1955, she was appointed as a full-time organiser of the ‘Coloured People’s Congress’ in Johannesburg.
On August 9, 1956, she led the march of 20 000 women on the Union Buildings of Pretoria along with Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and Albertina Sisulu to protest the requirement that women carry pass books as part of the pass laws. She is the last living leader of the march. - Editor
Activist awarded Freedom of Joburg
Johannesburg - One of the leaders of the 1956 women's anti-pass law march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria was awarded the Freedom of the City of Johannesburg on Thursday.
MP Sophie Williams de Bruyn was congratulated on her achievement, the office of the ANC chief whip said.
Spokesperson Moloto Mothapo described Williams de Bruyn as "a veteran leader of our movement and a champion of the women's struggles".
"It is an honour and a privilege to still have women and veteran activists of such outstanding quality serving in this institution," Mothapo said.
"It is truly a momentous and fitting tribute for her to be given such recognition by a city whose streets she could not freely walk as a young activist, without being harassed for merely being born a woman and black."