By Kanina Foss
Struggle hero Professor Fatima Meer died on Friday. Because most people were not able to attend her funeral, a memorial service will be held on Monday, in a place her spirit still pervades - the Women's Jail on Constitution Hill...
Click. The sound of a key turning in the lock of a cell door signalled the arrival of a new prisoner. Silence, as the warder left. Then - "Hey, who's there?"
They came for Deborah Matshoba at 3am - the time of night when sleep is deepest. She and Meer were among 13 female political prisoners arrested in the aftermath of the June 1976 uprisings. Branded more dangerous, they were kept separate from the other prisoners.
Matshoba was put into one of the tin shacks in the section nicknamed "Winnie's Yard". The door shut behind her, seconds passed, then a voice reverberated through corrugated iron: "Hey, who's there?"
Friendship flourished between the women, despite their disparate political backgrounds. Meer, a Muslim, even attended the Christian services held inside the prison. "It was a way to get out of the cell," laughed Matshoba.
Hours before Cecilie Palmer was locked up, she stood in front of an open window in the John Vorster Square prison, convinced she was about to die. She took in her last view of the world, and a quiet acceptance settled on her.
But the Security Police decided not to push her out of the window, as they'd done to many others there. Palmer joined the women in "Fatima's Yard" - brick holding cells separated from Winnie's Yard by a wall.
At night, the women used to communicate over the wall. Girls as young as 12 were being arrested. They could hear them weeping. Meer was instrumental in a protest that saw the political prisoners refusing to re-enter their cells during the routine 4pm lock-up. They demanded that the girls be released.
The prison authorities acquiesced, but afterwards the women were concerned. "What if these kids had not been taken home? What if they'd been taken somewhere where there were no big mouths?" said Matshoba.
The women fought for greater contact, convincing prison authorities to allow them a YMCA month, during which they visited across the wall.
"But then the month never stopped," laughed Matshoba.
There were also arguments, documented by Meer in her book Prison Diaries.
"We were all leaders in our own right," said Matshoba.
One of her favourite recollections of Meer is the story she told about the strip-search conducted when she arrived at the prison from Durban.
Meer was wearing a sari, and she took so long to unwind it that the female warder lost patience and abandoned the search. "Fatima always said: 'Next time you get arrested, make sure you wear a sari'," laughed Matshoba.
Passionate about community development, Meer was a pacifist during a time when militancy was inevitable, especially if you'd been locked up for no reason. Her favourite song was "U Mandela, ufuna amajoni" (Mandela wants soldiers).
Her drawings, from her time in prison, will be exhibited as part of the memorial service, which starts at 11am in the main atrium at the Women's Jail. Speaker Selli Motlana will be joined by others who will share their memories of Meer.