How was the role of woman in the struggle against apartheid different from that of men 1950 to 1980
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Women in South Africa, since the turn of the century, have emerged as primary catalysts for protests against, and as challengers of, the apartheid regime. With all the disabilities and devastating effects of apartheid on the status of women that have already been described, women have never lost sight of the fact that meaningful change for them cannot come through reform but only through the total destruction of the apartheid system. Thus the common exploitation and oppression of men and women on the basis of colour has led to a combined fight against the system instead of a battle of women against men for "womens rights."
While women desire their personal liberation, they see that as part of the total liberation movement. Although there is no doubt that the overt leadership has been dominated by men, the seemingly unacknowledged and informal segment of society controlled by women has been the key to many of the most significant mass movements in modern South African history. It is only in the very recent past that the crucial role played by women in raising basic issues, organising and involving the masses has become more widely recognised.
Women in the trade unions
Although women have been involved to some degree in all kinds of organisations in South Africa, from church groups to liberation movements, in many ways it was the trade union movements that became the spawning ground for women organisers and in which women first rose to positions of importance in South Africa. Trade union actions such as strikes also served to politicise some women.
The organising of women began in the 1920s, principally in the laundry, clothing, mattress, furniture and baking industries. While several black national federations were formed and dissolved, the one that endured in spite of the new labour legislation of the 1920s was the Non-European Trade Union Federation, formed in 1928.
During the 1930s, women trade unionists were in the leadership of the opposition towards growing Afrikaner nationalism and apartheid in the unions. Their position was that racial divisions should not split a union. They sought free compulsory education for all races, an end to job reservations by race and training for all races. Women were being both organised and trained to organise and lead.
As the economy developed in the 1930s and 1940s, with the growth of capital accumulation and an increased demand for labour, women rapidly became urbanised to fill this need. These demographic changes, coupled with the crippling labour legislation that would follow the assumption of power by the National Party in 1948, made the 1940s the crest of the period in which women organised other women and black industrial workers.
Efforts to organise Africans were crippled by the National Party`s labour legislationthe Industrial Legislation Commission (1950) enforced apartheid in the trade unions; under the Suppression of Communism Act, 56 trade union activists were banned by 1955; the Industrial Legislation Bill (1956) made job reservations the law. But the women still led strikes, even though strikes by Africans were then illegal.
Historically, the trade union movement helped to inspire women in many other areas, but the main impact was that the unions provided a training ground for women political leaders. Female factory workers learned new methods of organising and were exposed to the principles of non-racial worker solidarity.
Since the founding of the African National Congress (ANC) Bantu Womens League in 1913, women have been active in other organisations, especially those based in urban areas. Women played an active role in the Campaign of Defiance Against Unjust Laws during which, in 1952, many were arrested. They also helped to organise the Congress of Democrats, a white organisation in alliance with the ANC and the Coloured People`s Congress. However, the lack of a broad-based womens organisation made the participation of women sporadic. In addition, almost all activity was urban-based, with little or no contact with women in the reserves.
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