This book documents the experiences of Black women during the apartheid era in South Africa from 1948 through 1994. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Indigenous groups that made up what later became known as South Africa had instilled in their sons and daughters different gender roles based on the dominant cultural standards. Women were expected to take care of the home while the men were supposed to serve as breadwinners and leaders. Following the the decision by European travelers to establish a ‘service station’ at the Cape of Good Hope in 1662, Black women became more marginalized in the political, economic, and social aspects of family life and at the national level. At the same time, Black woman were reduced to ‘maids’ serving at the pleasure of European families and were confronted with the three-fold challenge of discrimination based on race, class, and gender. Readers will be exposed to the strategies and tactics Black women adopted in response to discrimination in and outside their homes which participating in the collective struggle against the apartheid system.

Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds, Revised Edition profiles the censorship of many such essential works of literature. The entries new to this edition include extensive coverage of the Harry Potter series, which has been frequently banned in the United States on the grounds that it promotes witchcraft, as well as entries on two popular textbook series, The Witches by Roald Dahl, Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran, and more. Also included are updates to such entries as The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie and On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

This book studies the Anglo-American media's representation of South Africa in the 1970s - the international media is shown to have been under continuous pressure from both the South African Dept of Information and the anti-apartheid movement.

Over the last century, the social and economic roles played by African women have evolved dramatically. Long confined to home and field, overlooked by their menfolk and missionaries alike, African women worked, thought, dreamed, and struggled. They migrated to the cities, invented new jobs, and activated the so-called informal economy to become Africa's economic and social focal point. As a result, despite their lack of education and relatively low status, women are now Africa's best hope for the future. This sweeping and innovative book is the first to reconstruct the full history of women in sub-Saharan Africa. Tracing the lot of African women from the eve of the colonial period to the present, Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch explores the stages and forms of women's collective roles as well as their individual emancipation through revolts, urban migrations, economic impacts, social claims, political strength, and creativity. Comparing case studies drawn from throughout the region, she sheds light on issues ranging from gender to economy, politics, society, and culture. Utilizing an impressive array of sources, she highlights broad general patterns without overlooking crucial local variations. With its breadth of coverage and clear analysis of complex questions, this book is destined to become a standard text for scholars and students alike.

"These four volumes in this major series... provide a single-source reference to the status of the field of women's history and to ways that the field can be expanded.... A basic set for all academic libraries." -- Library Journal Academic NewswireBerger and White focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, tracing women's history from earliest times to the present. By exploring their place in social, economic, political, and religious life, the authors highlight the changing societal position of women through shifts over time in ideas about gender and the connections between women's public and private spheres.