The marchers' aims were to protest the introduction of the Apartheid pass laws for black women in 1952 and the presentation of a petition to the then Prime Minister J.G.
[2]: 4 Leading the march were Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn.
[2]: 4 [4] They then stood for thirty minutes in silence before singing "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and then sang a woman's freedom song called "Wathint' abafazi, Strijdom!"
[5]: 144 On 9 August 2000, National Women's Day, a monument was unveiled at the Malibongwe Embokodweni, the amphitheatre at Union Buildings in Pretoria to celebrate and commemorate the event of 1956.
[2]: 1, 4 It is called the Monument to the Women of South Africa, a project developed by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST).
[2]: 1 A Monument Steering Committee was formed in 1999 with a judging panel established consisting of a veteran of the march, a member of the presidents office, three artists, a designer and a curator.
[2]: 4 A seven-day workshop at the Technikon Pretoria was held to enable the event to be fair and transparent and allow disadvantaged artists to participate in the competition.