International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Women have always been involved in – and often led – struggles for self-determination and freedom in Southern Africa. Oral histories from indigenous sovereign states of pre-colonial Southern Africa, archival records from the colonial period, and ongoing activism in the current nationstates of Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) provide ample evidence of the existence of women's movements and women's resistance to colonialism, racism, and gender oppression. Women in pre-colonial Southern Africa were activists and leaders and not, as they have often been characterized, peripheral members of their societies. While one cannot generalize about the nature of women's positions for all of Southern Africa, one can say that women were fierce fighters, leaders in resistance movements, and rulers among their people. Women struggled for justice in myriad ways. Some struggles have become legendary, while others have become only distant memories, but all were significant moments of revolution and protest. Women leaders were found among Khoi, Sotho, and Venda speakers and the Lovedu, who ritually passed leadership from mothers to daughters. Zulu royal women were influential in state affairs as advisors and decision-makers. Recorded histories of women leaders in Southern Africa date from the sixteenth century. Queen ... log in or subscribe to read full text