Whilst South Africa had many forms of societal segregation prior to Apartheid, its institutionalization through governmental policy led its founders to organize against several issues, such as rising costs and the pass law system.

Rachel Simons, trade unionist and member of the South African Communist Party, Frances Baard, of the African Food and Canning Workers Union, and Florence Matomela, president of the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) in the Eastern Cape, organized an informal gathering of women at the Port Elizabeth Annual Trades and Labour council conference.

[4] During this informal meeting, a clear concern for issues regarding women and the welfare of their families were expressed - pass laws, which segregated and strictly regulated the movement of black and coloured people.

[13] Throughout 1957 and into 1958, the women's anti-pass campaign continued to generate wide scale support and attention from the international media.

[14] In 1960, after a day of demonstrations against the pass laws, a crowd of 7000 marched to the police station in the South African Township of Sharpeville.

The South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 and injuring 180; many were shot in the back as they fled, this was known as the Sharpeville Massacre.

A combination of government pressures and issues funding the organization made it impossible for FEDSAW to continue running.

[23] It was committed to the liberation of the black majority in South Africa from white minority rule, by a process of peaceful change.

White South African women generally abstained from participating in FEDSAW activism, with the exception of those in the Congress of Democrats.

[25] In addition to their official Charter, FEDSAW adopted eight specific aims at the 1954 inaugural conference: FEDSAW was made up of members from the ANC Women's League, The Congress of Democrats, the South African Indian Congress and the Coloured Women's Organization.

[17] Between March and August 1956, FEDSAW planned to host a mass protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.

[30] Held on August 9, 1956, the protest mobilized "between 6,000 to 20,000 women" from all over the country, including places such as "Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Port Elizabeth.