In South Africa, black women were once regarded as perpetual minors in the eyes of the law. This meant that they could not acquire or own property. South African women suffered from a triple yoke of oppression, being gender, race and class discrimination. Black women have had inferior job opportunities and were subjected to other forms of discrimination at all levels.
The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 bestowed authority on chiefs (who were virtually all male) to administer customary law. This was a patriarchal system wherein women were considered as legal minors throughout their lives. In addition to not being able to own property, the legal minor status meant that black women could not enter into contracts and children legally belonged to their fathers or other male relatives.
In the 1980s, there were reforms that allowed black women’s increased emancipation from customary law. In 1981, the KwaZulu Bantustan allowed adult women, married or unmarried, to own property and to make certain legal decisions. This came after some pressure on the chiefs to introduce these reforms.
Whilst Black men were required to carry passes when entering major cities, it was never a formal requirement for black women. This was because the apartheid government faced great resistance when attempting to impose individual passes on Black women. For instance, in 1913, hundreds of people marched against pass laws for black women. However, the most compelling reason to not imposes passes on black women was that the apartheid regime expected them to be governed by their men as they were legal minors and not considered as self-sufficient persons in their own right. This led to the now famous march of 09 August 1956, where about 20 000 women of all races marched to Pretoria in protest against pass laws in South Africa.
Women have always played a crucial role in the anti-apartheid movement, some even took up arms and became members of the armed resistance. Women were finally emancipated with the dawn of democracy in South Africa, their emancipation being high on the development agenda. Women’s rights are cemented in the Bill of Rights in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996. Section 9 states that:
(1) Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of
the law.
(2) Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.
(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one
or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or
social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief,
culture, language and birth.
As women, we have come a long way to breaking barriers and leading organisations as well as contributing to the economy. However, we have only just begun and have a long way to go. We will be celebrating some phenomenal women who are playing a role in ensuring that women continue to play a significant role in shaping an equal South Africa. Be sure to visit our social media pages to see features of these amazing women.
