Mntwana, Ida (fl. 1949–1955)

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Mntwana, Ida (fl. 1949–1955)

Member of the African National Congress Youth League, president of the ANC Women's League and first national president of the Federation of South African Women. Name variations: Mtwana, Mtwa. Pronunciation: M-N-twa-na. Died during the Treason trials (1956–1961).

Elected president of the African National Congress Women's League (1949); signed invitation for inaugural conference of the Federation of South African Women (FSAW, 1953); speaker at conference, elected first National President of FSAW (1954); resigned from FSAW (1955).

On April 2, 1944, the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was launched in response to the demands of the younger members of the African National Congress. Unlike their conservative elders, the Youth Leaguers were eager to turn the ANC into a mass movement that would use civil disobedience to fight for the liberation of the African peoples of South Africa. Since its formation in 1912, the ANC had been dominated by members of the small African elite who were campaigning for equal participation in the government of the "whitesonly" Union of South Africa. By 1944, a vocal faction had developed who saw that the future of the struggle depended on including the majority of the population. This "freshman class" included Walter Sisulu, Ida Mntwana, Nelson Mandela, Lilian Ngoyi and Oliver Tambo. They would launch the ANC in a direction that after much struggle would lead to the formation of the free Republic of South Africa in 1994.

In 1949, Madie-Hall Xuma resigned from the presidency of the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) and was replaced by Ida Mntwana. The ANC Women's League had been established in 1944, at the same time as the Congress Youth League. Its mandate was to increase the participation of women in the struggle for liberation, attend to women's issues, and oppose apartheid policies that specifically targeted women. Madie-Hall Xuma was the African-American wife of Dr. A.B. Xuma, the president of the ANC. Under her leadership, the Women's League focused on teaching domestic skills, organizing charity functions, and establishing selfhelp programs, the kind of work expected of middle-class women. Much like women's clubs in other parts of the world, the Women's League did not have an overtly political agenda. Taking over the presidency, Mntwana brought with her the radical ideals of the Congress Youth League.

By that time, the ANCWL was establishing branches at the township level throughout the country. Threatened by the changes to the pass law and the passage of the Bantu Education Act (1953), the women of South Africa joined the struggle for the rights of full citizenship. Through the branches, women from all backgrounds joined the ANCWL. The Women's League was key to organizing South African women's participation in demonstrations, marches, boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience especially over the issue of passes.

In 1913 and again in 1936, 87% of the land in South Africa had been reserved exclusively for white ownership and occupation. The majority African population had the status of migrants whenever they left the reserves (the 13% of the country where they were supposed to live). The Pass Laws required that all African men register with the local authorities and obtain a pass. The authorities could thereby monitor their movements in and out of the "white" areas where they sought work. In the early '50s, the Abolition of Pass Laws and Co-ordination of Documents Act (1952) was passed to extend the system to cover women. It was against this new legislation that South African women protested most forcefully through the 1950s.

By 1953, the need for an autonomous organization to advocate for women's issues was becoming apparent. The following year, women from around the country met in Johannesburg to form a multiracial organization, the Federation of South African Women (FSAW). As president of the ANCWL, Mntwana spoke during the opening ceremonies, urging women to "fight for their children's rights and future." A Women's Charter was presented and adopted, calling for South African women to demand their rights both as women within their communities and as the disenfranchised under the apartheid government. Despite the strong presence of members of the African National Congress and the Congress Alliance at the conference, the delegates were determined to articulate women's particular goals with respect to apartheid and not to serve simply as a "women's" branch of the established organizations. At the same time, they would ensure that women's issues were represented in the agendas of the nationalists.

Ida Mntwana was elected the first national president of the Federation of South African Women. Other members of the National Executive Committee, all well known in the liberation struggle, included Gladys Smith , Lilian Ngoyi, Bertha Mikze, Florence Matomela, Ray Alexander and Annie Silinga .

Mntwana's position as head of the ANCWL brought her into conflict with other members of the FSAW over how to structure the membership. Mntwana and other members of her home branch, the Transvaal ANCWL, advocated for a federation of affiliated organizations. Women would join by virtue of their membership in existing organizations. Ray Alexander and many of the other delegates preferred women joining as individuals. The ANC feared that this would put the FSAW in competition with the ANCWL, for unlike the FSAW, the ANCWL was part of the ANC and ultimately had to adhere to ANC policies. In the end, the influence of the ANC prevailed and the women's organization was constituted as a federation. In March 1955, Mntwana resigned from her position as president of the FSAW and died sometime during the Treason trials (1956–1961). When South Africa's Women's Monument, built to honor the vital part women played in the fight against apartheid, was unveiled on August 9, 2000, Ida Mntwana was among those women cited as "torchbearers" during President Thabo Mbeki's address.