When Women Walked Like Mountains - By Goutham Linga

Written By: Goutham Linga

Category: Essays

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In the poignant essay "When Women Walked Like Mountains," Goutham Linga delves into the profound impact of women in history, specifically highlighting the South African Women’s March of 1956. Submitted to the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, this work explores the theme of resilience and quiet strength, drawing attention to the often overlooked yet significant roles women have played in societal change. Through detailed narrative and introspection, Linga invites readers to reconsider the power of endurance and the courage that lies in collective action.

About the Work

Goutham Linga’s essay captures the essence of resilience and the underestimated force of women in historical struggles. It focuses on the South African Women’s March of 1956, illustrating how ordinary women made extraordinary decisions amidst uncertainty. The mood is reflective and empowering, emphasizing themes of courage, endurance, and the silent yet potent strength inherent in women’s movements. Linga's narrative style is both informative and evocative, challenging readers to reevaluate the societal valuation of women’s labor and contributions.

When Women Walked Like Mountains

Original Submission by Goutham Linga

When Women Walked Like Mountains

By Goutham Linga

History often remembers change through dramatic images.

Wars.

Speeches.

Leaders standing before crowds.

Less often does it pause to consider another force-quieter, frequently underestimated, yet equally capable of altering nations:

Women deciding they have carried enough.

The South African Women’s March of 9 August 1956 remains one of those moments.

More than twenty thousand women travelled to Pretoria to protest pass laws extending greater restrictions over their lives. They came from different communities and circumstances: teachers, domestic workers, nurses, mothers, organisers, women responsible not only for themselves but for households depending upon them.

I think those details matter.

Historical events often appear inevitable in retrospect.

They were not inevitable while unfolding.

Every woman who joined that march likely made practical calculations beforehand:

Who will care for my children today?

What consequences may follow?

Will participation matter?

Courage rarely appears as certainty.

More often, courage appears despite uncertainty.

The pass laws represented more than administration. Policies regulating movement may sound bureaucratic from a distance, yet their effects become personal.

Employment.

Family life.

Safety.

Opportunity.

The ability to move without fear.

Inequality often becomes most powerful when it settles quietly into ordinary routines and begins appearing normal.

The women marching in 1956 challenged that normalisation.

Their protest asked a broader question:

What happens when governments underestimate those expected only to endure?

The march itself remains remarkable.

Thousands gathered.

Petitions were carried.

At one point, participants reportedly stood in silence.

Silence deserves attention.

Public demonstrations are usually associated with volume.

Yet silence communicates something different.

Discipline.

Resolve.

The refusal to disappear.

Then came the words remembered across generations:

“Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo.”

You strike a woman, you strike a rock.

The phrase survived because it recognised something beyond resistance.

Resilience.

The capacity to absorb pressure repeatedly without surrendering identity.

I sometimes wonder whether societies misunderstand women’s endurance.

Endurance is mistaken for acceptance.

Patience mistaken for agreement.

Care mistaken for weakness.

History suggests otherwise.

Women have often sustained households, movements, and communities simultaneously-particularly during instability. Their labour frequently remains visible in daily life yet absent from public memory.

The anti-apartheid struggle included recognised leaders, but also countless women performing quieter forms of work:

Organising.

Supporting families.

Maintaining continuity.

Protecting children.

Preserving belief.

Not all contributions enter textbooks.

Their absence from record does not reduce significance.

The Women’s March did not immediately dismantle discriminatory systems.

Historical change rarely follows one event.

Still, some moments alter possibility.

The march became one of them.

It expanded participation.

Strengthened collective resistance.

Demonstrated that women were not peripheral to struggle.

They were central.

South Africa now marks 9 August as National Women’s Day.

Commemoration matters.

Yet perhaps remembrance should extend beyond celebration.

The march continues asking difficult questions:

How do societies value women’s labour?

Whose sacrifices receive recognition?

What forms of inequality remain tolerated because they appear ordinary?

Those questions extend far beyond one country.

When I think about the women who travelled to Pretoria in 1956, I do not first imagine heroism in dramatic terms.

I imagine ordinary people making difficult decisions.

People carrying responsibilities.

People uncertain.

People tired.

Continuing anyway.

That may be the version of courage most common in human history.

Not sudden.

Sustained.

And perhaps that explains why the image endures:

Thousands of women walking together-

not because change was guaranteed,

but because dignity seemed worth the risk.

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a prestigious platform celebrating diverse voices in poetry and prose. Aimed at encouraging creative expression, the competition offers writers a chance to showcase their work on a global stage. Participants from around the world contribute to a rich tapestry of literature, exploring themes that resonate universally. This annual event continues to inspire and recognize the power of words in shaping our understanding of the world.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Goutham Linga for his insightful contribution, "When Women Walked Like Mountains," to the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. His exploration of the South African Women’s March offers a profound reflection on courage and societal change. Thank you, Goutham, for sharing this powerful narrative with us and reminding us of the enduring strength found in collective action.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.