Google Doodle Celebrates 95Th Birthday Of South African Activist Fatima Meer
Date
8/11/2023 11:00:20 PM
(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Google Doodle on Saturday celebrates the 95th birthday of Famita Meer who is a South African writer, artist, scholar, and anti-apartheid activist. She fought for human rights and gender equality. She also helped found many organizations that aimed at improving the quality of life in South Africa.Born on 12th August 1928 in Durban, Fatima Meer helped produce her family-owned newspaper titled 'Indian Views' during her childhood. She even learned about the harsh realities of South African society. Meer was able to nurture her English Experience and shape the foundation of her career with the help of early experiences in her life.
In high school, Meer began to become politically active. She participated in the establishment of the Student Passive Resistance Committee in 1946 in support of the Indian Passive Resistance Campaign and was given the opportunity to speak at numerous large gatherings. Later, she pursued sociology studies at the University of Natal.The public and the South African government were both interested in her growing activism. Due to the Suppression of Communism Act, Meer was prohibited from attending any public events in 1952 and from publishing any writings for a period of three years. The prohibition was intended to silence her opinions and speech, however, it just served to fuel the fires already burning inside of her.Throughout her career, Meer assisted in planning a variety of public events, such as Women's Marches and night vigils to protest the widespread detention of anti-apartheid activists. Additionally, she co-founded a number of organizations, including the Concerned Citizens Group, the Institute of Black Research, the Black Women's Federation, and the Federation of South African Women.Along with her advocacy, Meer started working for charities, wrote several books, and lectured in sociology at her alma institution. She and the Mandela family were good friends, and Nelson trusted her writing so much that he asked her to write his first official biography, Higher than Hope (1990). Meer received the Vishwa Gurjari Award for Contribution to Human Rights in 1994 and The Order of Luthuli in Silver in 2017 as tributes to her memory and legacy.
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