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Women and resistance in South Africa
Book by Cherryl Walker
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
309 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
24 people want to read
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September 25, 2018
2018 Reading Challenge - A book set in a country that fascinates you
This book covers the evolution of feminist political activism within the South African state. It begins with suffragist, who were European and not concerned with the franchise of all women in South Africa, and concludes with women taking part in the Anti-Apartheid movements of the end of the 20th century. It is an incredibly dry read. I mistakenly thought the book would delve more deeply into Black women in the liberation movements in South Africa, but it instead tends to more narrowly look at more formal women's organizations, which were not always inclusive of or effective bases of political liberation for Black women. It also fails to adequately address the intersectionality of Black women in South Africa. Instead it is given as an either or narrative: Black women choosing to align with the Anti-Apartheid movement at the cost of seeking their full liberation. Many times the fact that many women rallied around issues of motherhood and community are presented as inhibiting and anti-feminist in a sense. This is a tired and ahistorical argument, so I found the book hard to engage with.
This book covers the evolution of feminist political activism within the South African state. It begins with suffragist, who were European and not concerned with the franchise of all women in South Africa, and concludes with women taking part in the Anti-Apartheid movements of the end of the 20th century. It is an incredibly dry read. I mistakenly thought the book would delve more deeply into Black women in the liberation movements in South Africa, but it instead tends to more narrowly look at more formal women's organizations, which were not always inclusive of or effective bases of political liberation for Black women. It also fails to adequately address the intersectionality of Black women in South Africa. Instead it is given as an either or narrative: Black women choosing to align with the Anti-Apartheid movement at the cost of seeking their full liberation. Many times the fact that many women rallied around issues of motherhood and community are presented as inhibiting and anti-feminist in a sense. This is a tired and ahistorical argument, so I found the book hard to engage with.
Displaying 1 of 1 review