Anti-Apartheid Movement

Events that Fueled the Movement

In the 1940s, women moved into active resistance from passive support and social welfare activities. In 1943, women were allowed equal membership in the ANC, and a women's branch was formed to facilitate women's involvement in anti-apartheid efforts. The need for labor during World War II ushered many black women into the industrial workforce and the labor movement. Coming mainly from the Communist Party and the trade unions, women began to take active roles in resistance alongside men, and the federation of South African Women (FSAW) was founded in 1954 by Ray Simons, Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi, and Amina Cachalia. The FSAW quickly became an active multiracial anti-apartheid force in alliance with other groups. In conjunction with the ANC, this woman's group directed campaigns against pass laws and quickly fell under government intimidation. However, strong and active women like Ruth First, Albertine Sisulu, and Winnie Mandela were not easily intimidated.

Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, the National Party government in South Africa strengthened the racist policies of the white government and enacted new apartheid legislation. The Population Registration Act and the Group Areas Act became cornerstones of apartheid. All individuals were labeled black, white, or colored, and the labeling predetermined their place in society, determining where they lived, worked, and went to school. On the heels of this legislation, two other laws were passed: the Separate Representation of Voters Act, which limited the rights of colored people to vote, and the Bantu Authorities Act, which abolished the Natives' Representative Council, the one indirect forum of national representation for Africans. The apartheid government also stepped up its attempts to prevent anti-apartheid actions; they arrested leaders, harassed civic groups, and intimidated individuals. In addition, the government passed the Suppression of Communism Act, which was used later to arrest most of the movement's leaders.

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