Due to her activity in anti-pass laws demonstrations, Maxeke was led to founding the Bantu Women's League (BWL) which later became part of the African National Congress Women's League, in 1918. The BWL under Maxeke was a grassroots movement that served as a manner of taking up grievances from a largely poor and rural base. Maxeke's BWL also demanded better working conditions for women farm workers, however these were largely ignored by the white authorities. Furthermore, Maxeke led a delegation to the then South African Prime Minister, Louis Botha, to discuss the issue of passes for women. These discussions resulted in a protest against passes for women the following year. Maxeke and an army of 700 women marched to the Bloemfontein City Council, where they burned their passes.