Women in South African history: Basus'iimbokodo, bawel'imilambo / they remove boulders and cross rivers

Abstract

In this fascinating collection, full of different textures, narratives and nuances, sixteen authors have begun to tackle the task of writing South Africa's history from an overtly feminist perspective, giving readers an opportunity to understand and reflect on debates about real women's power in completely new and fresh ways. Taking readers on an eclectic journey through the major themes of South African history from pre-colonial and pre-Union periods, through the terrors and struggles of the apartheid era to the present time, the authors have chosen not to be polite, but to interrogate issues, take them apart, turn things upside down. Readers are treated to a complete revision of the stories of Sarah Bartman and Xhosa prophetess Nongquawse; given a unique insight into the lives of slave women, the role of women in the early frontier wars, women's political struggles in the twentieth century, and on into the present with essays that deal with women's agency and current forms of protest and self representation. An exciting combination of seasoned and new voices, the book is intelligent, subtle, magisterial and unforgettable.