influence of these European women was consolidated by the Tamil women of Johannesburg, who were absolutely selfless in their support of the first satyagrahas and absolutely fearless in joining the final struggle of 1913–14. Henry Polak, husband of the feminist Millie, wrote of these Tamil ladies that ‘when the women could show such courage … the men dared not prove themselves weaker than the women.’ Their example animated and challenged their Tamil husbands and sons, but it inspired and moved the Gujarati lawyer Gandhi too.10
Tamil Women in South Africa
