Name/TitlePostcard: Save the Life of Theresa Ramashamola
About this objectPostcard featuring the black and white image of a woman releasing a bird, captioned 'SAVE THE LIFE OF THERESA RAMASHAMOLA', designed for the Anti-Apartheid Women's Committee (AAMWC) by Jane Ray, Facade Studios. The back of the card is captioned as follows:
STOP APARTHEID EXECUTIONS
SAVE THE LIVES OF THE SHARPEVILLE SIX
Theresa Ramashamola (24)
Reid Malebo Mokoena (22)
Oupa Moses Diniso (30)
Duma Joshua Khumalo (26)
Francis Manentsa Mokhesi (28)
Mojalefa Reginald Sefatsa (30)
MakerAnti-Apartheid Women's Committee (AAMWC)
MakerRay, Jane
Maker RoleArtist
Date Made1980s
Period1970s-1990s
Place MadeEngland, London
Place NotesAnti-Apartheid Women's Committee (AAMWC)
13 Mandela Street, London NW1 0DW
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, card
MeasurementsH: 105 x W: 149 mm
Subject and Association Keywords(anti) apartheid
Subject and Association Keywords(anti) racism
Subject and Association KeywordsPrison, imprisonment
Subject and Association KeywordsPolitical activism
Subject and Association Keywordshuman rights, civil rights
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_Six:
The Sharpeville Six were six South African protesters convicted of the murder of Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, and sentenced to death. On September 3, 1984, a protest march in Sharpeville turned violent (some of the crowd threw stones at Dlamini's house, he responded by firing a gun and a riot ensued) and the Deputy Mayor was murdered. Mojalefa Sefatsa, Theresa Ramashamola, Reid Mokoena, Oupa Diniso, Duma Khumalo and Francis Don Mokhesi were arrested in the following months, found guilty of murder under the "Common purpose" doctrine and sentenced to death by hanging on December 12, 1985. Christian Mokubung and Gideon Mokone were also sentenced to eight years in prison. All were represented by lawyer Prakash Diar. The convictions were widely condemned by the international community as unlawful and racist, particularly in United Nations Security Council Resolution 610 and 615. Two jurists reviewing the case said it was a "crime against humanity". Within the South African legal community opinion was mixed. A poll by The Star of eleven law professors showed that five were supportive of the execution, while six were not – of the six who were not, four raised the prospect of legal reforms and the remaining two remarked the case "smacks of simple vengeance". One professor was dispatched to London to defend the South African government's position on the matter. However, at a press conference, he stated he had not read the trial record but insisted that there had been no miscarriage of justice and "all arguments had been heard". The following day after Security Council Resolution 610 was adopted, a South African court granted a one-month stay of execution. Of the six, only four appealed and the other two indicated they would rather be executed. The appeal was rejected in June 1988, which the Security Council condemned in Resolution 615; however pressure from abroad finally led to the sentences of all six being commuted to 18–25 years in prison by President Pieter Willem Botha. With the fall of apartheid, the first members of the Sharpeville Six, Diniso and Khumalo, were released on July 10, 1991, followed by Ramashamola and Mokoena on December 13, 1991, and the final two, Mokhesi and Sefatsa released on September 26, 1992.
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypePostcard
Object numberGWL-2020-15-1
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved