Apartheid And Oppression Of South African Women

Apartheid marks a period of South African history complete with a destructive government system, racist laws, and segregation between Whites and all remaining racial categories. To live as a Black woman during this oppressing time proved exceedingly difficult because of the social stigma of being woman, and the shame accompanied with identifying as Black. White men and White women ruled over Black men and Black women, but Black men still received more rights and privileges than Black women. Black women were denied the right to work, vote, and often did not have a say in protests or conversations about their oppression. The obligation of taking care of their family, the repression of women, and the bigot Apartheid laws suffocated Black women …show more content…
Emily Ngubene characterizes the Black community, and Susan du Toit symbolizes the upper class Whites in South Africa during Apartheid. Being Black and a woman living everyday with judgment, discrimination, and misogynistic ideals exemplify the constant uphill battle South African women faced during Apartheid.
While both White and Black women experienced the same gender- based oppression, the education and socialization of White women promoted and perpetuated Apartheid. Upper class White women, like Susan du Toit, grew up in households with two educated and successful parents who could provide education for all of their children. As a result of receiving a better education, White women enjoyed more career paths than those presented to Black women. The system of education, jobs, societal beliefs, and laws such as the Group Areas Act bred White women to believe that they were more significant than Black women from a very early age ( Gandhi Luthuli Documentation Centre). This pretentiousness reflects in Susan’s refusal to aide a Black women like Emily, which acts as the case for most White …show more content…
The laws and rights implemented by the system of Apartheid sanctioned Black women like Emily to far more social hostility and inequalities than White women like Susan: “The system of apartheid put every Black person at the bottom of the social ladder, but Black women were the lowest members on that bottom step, especially in regards to their rights and privileges”(St. John Fisher College). Basic rights such as education and security made up the many constraints Black women experienced that prevented them to prosper on their own. While most boys attended the Government-ran schools to prepare themselves for manual labor, Black girls received encouragement to stay at home and learn the tasks necessary to become the “perfect housewife”( Third World Legal Studies). Men worked hours away in diamond mines, while women constantly feared for their families’ safety back at home, especially because of the frequent police brutality towards Blacks: “They knocked so loud we were stiff with fright. Before Gordon could open for them they kicked down the door. And the whole house was filled with police…the children woke up from the noise and the little ones began to cry. They mustn’t do that in front of the children, Baas”(52). Emily has faced the harshest reality for Black women during Apartheid: the privacy of her home violated, and