Helen suzman israel
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Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights
Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights tells the story of Suzman’s rise as the leading Member of Parliament to oppose apartheid legislation during 36 years of public service. Meticulously selected photographs, personal letters, speeches, political cartoons and news articles convey the tremendous strength she demonstrated while facing constant animosity, antisemitism and intimidation from other South African Parliamentarians, colleagues and citizens.
Helen Suzman was one of South Africa’s most vociferous and energetic opponents of apartheid. She takes pride of place among those who devoted their lives to the fight for human rights and the rule of law in South Africa. From the start of a political career that spanned almost four decades, she worked tirelessly, never flinching from challenging the pernicious system created by apartheid.
Helen Suzman’s struggle against ruling National Party, both within and outside of Parliament, was relentless and often lonely. For thirteen years (1961-1974), she was the only Member of Parliament from the P
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Helen Suzman
South African anti-apartheid activist and Member of the House of Assembly
Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in the whites-only, National Party-controlled House of Assembly of South Africa at the height of apartheid.
She hosted the meeting that founded the Progressive Party in 1959, and was its only MP in the 160-member House for thirteen years. She was the only member of the South African Parliament to consistently and unequivocally oppose all apartheid legislation.
Suzman was instrumental in improving prison conditions for members of the banned African National Congress including Nelson Mandela, despite her reservations about Mandela's revolutionary policies, and was also known for using her parliamentary privilege to evade government censorship and pass information to the media about the worst abuses of apartheid. She was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Pri
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Helen Suzman
After the National Party came to power in 1948 Helen became more actively involved in politics. Her work for the Fagan Commission on laws restricting the mobility of black South Africans had made her acutely aware of the injustices suffered by the majority of South Africans. In the 1953 election she won the Houghton constituency unopposed for the United Party, the official opposition, and represented Houghton until her retirement in 1989.
Helen was part of a small liberal wing of the United Party that broke away to form the Progressive Party in 1959 and was the only member of that party to hold her seat in the general election of 1961. For the next thirteen years she kept the liberal flame alive in parliament in an increasingly hostile and oppressive environment. She was a consummate parliamentarian, never losing an opportunity to speak, to put questions and to intercede on behalf of those who were caught up in the merciless apartheid system. She was meticulous in the preparation of her speeches and was a fine orator who could face a torrent of abuse with a b
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