Kowsilla, also known as Alice, of Leonora, was killed on March 6, 1964 during the great Sugar Strike of 1964. Her body was severed in two when a sugar estate scab, Felix Ross, drove a tractor through her. He was later acquitted. A mother of four at the time, and the sole breadwinner of her family, Kowsilla was an executive of the Leonora branch of the WPO and, as a leader, she paid the ultimate price by displaying the highest order of resistance for her belief in adequate wage for adequate work. Despite her struggle for her people, Kowsilla’s story has rarely been documented. At Jahajee Sisters, we remember Kowsilla’s courage and refuse to let her sacrifice disappear into the historical void so many women’s stories fall into.

( Jahajee Sisters ) 2010