Nyembe was merchant but was also active in politics , participating or running many progressive organizations . She joined the African National Congress in 1952 and soon became an active member . When she joined the ANC the Defiance campaign was going on . Nyembe was imprisoned in 1952 for defying unjust laws . She led women from Natal in the Defiance Campaign of 1956 . Part of the Defiance Campaign was being a leader against the removal of the Cato Manor in 1956 . In 1956 she was elected as the vice president of the Durban ANC . She was also active in the movement to boycott beer halls . Beer Halls , taking jobs away from many women . In 1959 she was elected president of the Natal division of the African National Congress Women 's League . When the ANC was banned in 1960 , she joined Spear of the Nation . In 1961 , Nyembe was recruited into the Umkhonto we Sizwe and worked with a number of allies such as Chief Albert Luthuli , Moses Mabhida , Nelson Mandela , Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo . " In 1963 she led women during the Natal Women 's Revolt . " She was released on 23 March 1984 , after her release , Nyembe started working for Natal Organisation of Women ( NOW ) . NOW served a number of purposes . Fighting against rent increases , transport costs , poor education and lack of child care facilities are the main focus of the organization . " The ANC 's philosophy during the early 1950 's was that of Gandhi 's . A passive philosophy where members were willing to go to prison if necessary . Nyembe , while not a pacifist , joined the ANC and in 1952 was willing to break laws that imposed restrictions of political , labour and residential rights . Nyembe 's time in the defiance campaign ended when , in 1953 , the British passed laws that banned protest meetings . After her election president of the Natal division in 1959 Nyembe was involved in the planning of opposition to pass laws . Pass laws would have made it required that all black citizens carry an identity card around in white areas . After the Sharpeville massacre and the ANC and the PAC being banned under newly passed the Unlawful Organisations Act . Nyembe joined a violent wing of the ANC called the spear of nation . Under this operation she participated in sabotaging government facilities
Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
Dorothy Nyembe