Topic 3: Civil Society Protests 1950s – 1970s
Unit 3.1: Overview
*People felt that they didn’t have true democracies in their own societies which led to mass protests after
WW2
The Women’s Liberation and Feminist Movement (60s & 70s)
o Started in USA w/ many groups that joined up bc of common aims.
Women in 50s
▪ Middle class women in western societies = barefoot and pregnant in kitchen
▪ Some worked but had limited choices and got paid less than half of what men got, worked longer
hours and usually lost their jobs when they got married, no promotions.
Start of Women’s Movement USA
▪ Women’s Liberation: freeing women from restrictive controls of a male-dominated society (socially,
economically and politically)
▪ 1960s: didn’t accept inferior treatment, wanted more indep -> inspired by The Feminine Mystique by
Betty Friedan.
▪ Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed gender based and racial discrimination but wasn’t enforced.
▪ 1966: National Organisation for Women (NOW) = peaceful demonstrations, strikes, petitions, legal
action to force more equality. Tried to influence business and gov leaders for maternity leave +
childcare services so they could still work.
Women’s Liberation Movement
▪ Some feminists believed the older generation wasn’t doing enough and used more forceful tactics -
> Consciousness-raising = NB
▪ Protested male sexism & challenged society’s representation of women.
▪ 1968: Miss World pageant: a sheep = Miss America
▪ Symbolized their refusal to be trapped in conventional restrictions = burnt bras and three away
‘feminine stuff’ like makeup etc. working-class women didn’t necessarily agree but supported equal
pay and child care services. Black women felt the Civil Rights Movement was more NB bc racial
equality was needed first.
The Pill & Abortion
▪ Couldn’t pursue careers if they got knocked up and had to have risky abortions. The pill meant they
had some control and abortion was legalized in most states.
Women’s Movements elsewhere
▪ 1968 Britain: Ford factory strike for equal pay (supported by the trade union and public)
▪ National Joint Action Campaign for Women’s Equal Rights (Britain) had rallied and got the Equal Pay
Act
▪ Italy + France+ protest marched for divorce and abortion laws to change (no more ban on abortion)
▪ WLM was confined to middle-class women in industrialized societies so women in less developed
countries weren’t affected much
, Women’s identity and civil protests in SA (50s – 70s)
How women saw themselves
▪ It was difficult for women to unite against gender inequality when the issue of race was dividing them
during the apartheid era. They thought of themselves in terms of race rather than gender. The need
for racial freedom overpowered the need for gender equality.
Female Workers and Trade Unionism
▪ 1952: more black women than white in the industrial labor force for the first time so women became
more prominent in trade unions (trade unions = mostly separated by race during the 40s)
▪ 1941: Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) by Ray Alexander -> all races, mostly female. Played
an NB role in the founding of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) [1955] which
fought apartheid laws and included women.
Women in Rural Areas + Informal Sector
▪ Men were away bc of the migrant labour system, so women had to take up their jobs as farmers etc.
They protested issues that affected them directly.
▪ 1957: Zeerust (North West province) = black women refused to carry passes and wanted the chief
who supported them to be released. Many were arrested or fled.
▪ Women in townships protested the destroying of their shebeens (illegal beer-brewing) and the fact
that the state took their income.
Women: Anti pass campaigns
▪ 1954: gov said black women needed to carry passes like men
▪ Federation of South African Women (FSAW): nonracial -> Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi, Fatima Meer ->
peaceful anti-pass protests -> 9 August 1956 Women’s March to Pretoria
▪ FSAW drew up the Women’s Charter which dealt with social equality for women and the need to join
the liberation struggle against apartheid
Middle-class Black Sash Movement (white women)
▪ Black Sash [1955] organized silent public protests against discriminatory apartheid policies and ran
offices to help people affected by pass laws.
▪ They supported the white opposition parties and not the liberation movements (ANC or FSAW) which
showed they had more in common with white men than black women.
▪ Many black women felt that women’s rights were less important than the racial issues and white
women were less inclined to get involved in the civil rights movement against the white gov. (Tried
to change their policies rather than get rid of it)
▪ Helen Joseph and Ruth First were charged with treason during the Treason Trial.
Civil Protest and Women after 1976
▪ After the Soweto uprising, lots of civil protests continued. Women played a key role, and some joined
Umkhonto we Sizwe as soldiers and fought for liberation. Their role in the liberation movement
meant gender equality was made a priority for the New Democratic gov in 1994.
Unit 3.1: Overview
*People felt that they didn’t have true democracies in their own societies which led to mass protests after
WW2
The Women’s Liberation and Feminist Movement (60s & 70s)
o Started in USA w/ many groups that joined up bc of common aims.
Women in 50s
▪ Middle class women in western societies = barefoot and pregnant in kitchen
▪ Some worked but had limited choices and got paid less than half of what men got, worked longer
hours and usually lost their jobs when they got married, no promotions.
Start of Women’s Movement USA
▪ Women’s Liberation: freeing women from restrictive controls of a male-dominated society (socially,
economically and politically)
▪ 1960s: didn’t accept inferior treatment, wanted more indep -> inspired by The Feminine Mystique by
Betty Friedan.
▪ Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed gender based and racial discrimination but wasn’t enforced.
▪ 1966: National Organisation for Women (NOW) = peaceful demonstrations, strikes, petitions, legal
action to force more equality. Tried to influence business and gov leaders for maternity leave +
childcare services so they could still work.
Women’s Liberation Movement
▪ Some feminists believed the older generation wasn’t doing enough and used more forceful tactics -
> Consciousness-raising = NB
▪ Protested male sexism & challenged society’s representation of women.
▪ 1968: Miss World pageant: a sheep = Miss America
▪ Symbolized their refusal to be trapped in conventional restrictions = burnt bras and three away
‘feminine stuff’ like makeup etc. working-class women didn’t necessarily agree but supported equal
pay and child care services. Black women felt the Civil Rights Movement was more NB bc racial
equality was needed first.
The Pill & Abortion
▪ Couldn’t pursue careers if they got knocked up and had to have risky abortions. The pill meant they
had some control and abortion was legalized in most states.
Women’s Movements elsewhere
▪ 1968 Britain: Ford factory strike for equal pay (supported by the trade union and public)
▪ National Joint Action Campaign for Women’s Equal Rights (Britain) had rallied and got the Equal Pay
Act
▪ Italy + France+ protest marched for divorce and abortion laws to change (no more ban on abortion)
▪ WLM was confined to middle-class women in industrialized societies so women in less developed
countries weren’t affected much
, Women’s identity and civil protests in SA (50s – 70s)
How women saw themselves
▪ It was difficult for women to unite against gender inequality when the issue of race was dividing them
during the apartheid era. They thought of themselves in terms of race rather than gender. The need
for racial freedom overpowered the need for gender equality.
Female Workers and Trade Unionism
▪ 1952: more black women than white in the industrial labor force for the first time so women became
more prominent in trade unions (trade unions = mostly separated by race during the 40s)
▪ 1941: Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) by Ray Alexander -> all races, mostly female. Played
an NB role in the founding of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) [1955] which
fought apartheid laws and included women.
Women in Rural Areas + Informal Sector
▪ Men were away bc of the migrant labour system, so women had to take up their jobs as farmers etc.
They protested issues that affected them directly.
▪ 1957: Zeerust (North West province) = black women refused to carry passes and wanted the chief
who supported them to be released. Many were arrested or fled.
▪ Women in townships protested the destroying of their shebeens (illegal beer-brewing) and the fact
that the state took their income.
Women: Anti pass campaigns
▪ 1954: gov said black women needed to carry passes like men
▪ Federation of South African Women (FSAW): nonracial -> Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi, Fatima Meer ->
peaceful anti-pass protests -> 9 August 1956 Women’s March to Pretoria
▪ FSAW drew up the Women’s Charter which dealt with social equality for women and the need to join
the liberation struggle against apartheid
Middle-class Black Sash Movement (white women)
▪ Black Sash [1955] organized silent public protests against discriminatory apartheid policies and ran
offices to help people affected by pass laws.
▪ They supported the white opposition parties and not the liberation movements (ANC or FSAW) which
showed they had more in common with white men than black women.
▪ Many black women felt that women’s rights were less important than the racial issues and white
women were less inclined to get involved in the civil rights movement against the white gov. (Tried
to change their policies rather than get rid of it)
▪ Helen Joseph and Ruth First were charged with treason during the Treason Trial.
Civil Protest and Women after 1976
▪ After the Soweto uprising, lots of civil protests continued. Women played a key role, and some joined
Umkhonto we Sizwe as soldiers and fought for liberation. Their role in the liberation movement
meant gender equality was made a priority for the New Democratic gov in 1994.
