South Africa puts women on currency for first time
Key Takeaways
- Women have been featured on South African currency for the first time.
- Two R2 coins honour Charlotte Maxeke and the women of the 1956 Women’s March.
- The commemorative coins will enter circulation to highlight women’s role in South African history.
Two commemorative R2 coins honour Charlotte Maxeke and the women behind the historic 1956 anti-apartheid march.
Women have appeared on South African currency for the first time after the Reserve Bank launched two commemorative R2 coins honouring key figures in the country’s history.
The coins recognise anti-apartheid activist Charlotte Maxeke and the women who took part in the historic 1956 Women’s March.
The South African Reserve Bank unveiled the coins at an event in Pretoria dubbed “Women who opened doors”, attended by relatives of some of those being honoured.
"Today, we celebrate the legacy of Charlotte and the women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956," Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said.
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"This is a fitting place for the launch. It was at the State Theatre, directly across the street, that 20,000 women began their march to the Union Buildings to protest against the extension of pass laws to black women," he added.
Kganyago said the coins recognise women whose contributions helped pave the way for South Africa’s democracy, noting that "women have always grabbed the knife from its sharp end."
"May the coins serve as a reminder that leadership, achievement and service are not reserved for others," he said. "May they inspire them to not only walk through doors unlocked by earlier generations, but to unlock new ones."
Elinor Sisulu, a relative of anti-apartheid activist Albertina Sisulu, welcomed the decision to feature women on South African currency.
"It is the first time women have been represented and that you have Charlotte Maclagan and the women of 1956 honoured in this way. And in fact, when you ask, why didn't it happen before? And so I think it's been high time," Sisulu said.
Thulasizwe Makhanya, chairperson of the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute, said putting the commemorative coins into circulation could introduce more people to the history of South African women.
"I want to believe that as it will circulate, number one, more people will know more about women's history. Who are these women that led the march? What are their names?" Makhanya said.
One R2 coin marks 125 years since Maxeke became the first Black South African woman to graduate with a university degree.
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The second marks 70 years since the 1956 Women’s March against apartheid-era pass laws.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
