Afrikaans: Margaret Ballinger is op 11 Januarie 1894 as die jongste kind van Lilias en
John Hodgson in Glasgow, Skotland, gebore. In 1904 het die gesin na
Suid-Afrika geemigreer. Na 'n briljante skool loopbaan het sy 'n M.A. in
Geskiedenis aan Oxford behaal, waarna sy 'n senior lektrise in Geskiedenis by
die Universiteit van die Witwatersrand was. Haar akademiese loopbaan is in
1935 weens haar huwelik met die bekende vakbondleier, William Ballinger,
beeindig omdat getroude vroue nie toegelaat is om permanente betrekkinge te
beklee nie. Hierna het Ballinger haar tot die politiek gewend. Alhoewel
sy geen parlementere ambisies gehad het nie en die Naturelleverteenwoordigingswet
van 1936 ten sterk ste geopponeer het, het sy haar wel in 1937 in die
Oos-Kaapse naturellekieskring as 'n kandidaat van die "African National
Congress" verkiesbaar gestel. Dit was in terme van haar pol i tieke filosofie
om van alle geleenthede gebruik te maak om segre gasie in Suid-Afrika te
beveg. Ballinger het die setel teen sterk opposisie op 'n merkwaardige wyse
verower en 23 jaar lank verteenwoordig.
In die Volksraad het Ballinger haar as 'n briljante parlementa rier onderskei
en sy het 'n reputasie opgebou as een van Suid Afrika se bekwaamstes
ooit. Aansluitend daarby het sy haar as 'n onvermoeide verteenwoordiger van haar
kiesers se bel ange onder skei. Dit, tesame met haar stryd as 'n onwri
kbare opponent van enige rasse- of pol itieke onverdraagsaamheid, het Ballinger
'n internasionaal bekende persoonlikheid gemaak. Hierdie prestasie
het egter heel wat moed, durf en opofferi ngs van ha arr as 'n onafhanklike vereis. Oat sy wel bereid was om hierdie
opofferings vir haar ideaal van 'n veelrassige en demokratiese
Suid-Afrika te maak, blyk uit haar leierskap van die Liberale
Party - 'n Party wi e se st i gt i ng sy geopponeer het, terwyl sy
ook nie die leierskap daarvan begeer het nie.
Die tragedie van Ballinger se pol itieke loopbaan was dat sy in
1960 met haar gedwonge uittrede kragtens die Wet op die Bevordering
van Bantoe-Selfbestuur (1959) prakties geisoleer en verwerp
was. Vir die toenemende militante swartes was sy te gematig, terwyl
sy weer vir die blankes van Suid-Afrika te radikaal was.
Hierdie isolasie is vererger deur die feit dat sy nooit deel van
die liberale hoofstroom was nie. In die twintiger- en dertigerjare
is sy as te radikaal geag, terwyl sy teen die vyftigerjare
as te konserwatief geoordeel is. Oat haar uittrede saam met die
geweldpleging en noodtoestand van 1960 moes val, was 'n bitter
pil vir Ballinger. Sy het gevoel dat sy in al haar politieke
doelwitte gefaal het. Die teenoorgestelde is egter waar, deurdat
Ballinger die vlam van Suid-Afrikaanse liberalisme en die ideaal
van 'n veelrassige demokrasie in Suid-Afrika tydens haar
merkwaardige parlementere loopbaan aan die lewe gehou het.
English: Margaret Ballinger was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 11 January
1894 and was the youngest child of Lilias and John Hodgson. The
family emigrated to South Africa in 1904. After a brilliant
school career, she completed an M.A. in History at Oxford and
thereafter became a senior lecturer in History at the University
of the Witwatersrand. Her academic career ended in 1935 due to
her marriage to the well-known trade union leader, William Ballinger,
as married women were not allowed to hold permanent
posts. After this Ballinger devoted herself to politics. Although
she had no parliamentary ambitions, and strongly opposed
the Representation of Natives Act of 1936, she made herself
available as an African National Congress candidate in the Eastern
Cape native electoral circle in 1937. This was a result of
her political philosophy to use every opportunity to fight segregation
in South Africa. Ballinger won the seat in spite of
strong opposition and represented it for a period of 23 years.
In the House of Assembly Ballinger distinguished herself as a
brilliant parliamentarian and was reputed to be one of South
Africa's most able politicians. In addition, she proved to be an
untiring representative of her voters. This, together with the
fact that she opposed any racial or political intolerance, made
Ballinger an internationally known personality. This achievement
took a lot of courage and sacrifices from her as an independent.
That she was prepared to make these sacrifices in order to 7 achieve her ideal of a multiracial and democratic South Africa,
is shown by her leadership of the Liberal Party - a party whose
founding she opposed and whose leadership she did not seek.
The tragedy of Ballinger's political career was that she was
politically isolated and rejected by her constituents at the
time of her forced retirement in terms of the Promotion of Bantu
Self Government Act of 1959. She was too moderate for the increasingly
militant blacks, and too radical for the whites of
South Africa. This isolation was aggravated by the fact that she
never was part of the liberal main stream. During the twenties
and thirties she was considered to be too radical, and during
the fifties she was regarded as being too conservative. The fact
that her retirement coincided with the violence and the state of
emergency of 1960 was a bitter one for Ballinger. She felt that
she had failed in all her political goals. However, the opposite
is true, as Ba 11 i nger in fact kept the flame of South African
liberal ism and the ideal of a multiracial and democratic South
Africa burning throughout her amazing parliamentary career.