National Women's Monument, Memorial monument in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
The National Women's Monument is a memorial in Bloemfontein with a pale yellow-brown stone obelisk about 35 m high, its shaft narrowing to a point. At the front centre of the base, a dark bronze group shows two sorrowing women and a dying child, sketched by Emily Hobhouse from the Springfontein camp on 15 May 1901. Low semi-circular walls flank the obelisk, and inscribed stone panels and plaques sit in the lower stonework.
Built in 1913, the monument commemorates approximately 27,000 Boer women and children who died in British concentration camps during the South African War. That conflict, spanning 1899 to 1902, transformed the country and shaped its future political path.
Pupils of C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje in Bloemfontein make a 10-km hike to the monument each year, lay wreaths at President Steyn's grave and hold ceremonies there. The bronze group was sketched by Emily Hobhouse from a scene she witnessed at the Springfontein camp on 15 May 1901.
The site sits roughly 3 kilometers south of central Bloemfontein and shares its grounds with the Anglo-Boer War Museum. Visiting both locations together gives you a fuller understanding of the historical context and events.
The ashes of Emily Hobhouse, a human rights campaigner from the early 1900s, rest at the base of this structure. She advocated for prisoners during the war and is honored as part of the memorial.
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