Women in South African History: Basusaiimbokodo, Bawelaimilambo / They Move Boulders and Cross Rivers

Women in South African History: Basusaiimbokodo, Bawelaimilambo / They Move Boulders and Cross Rivers

by NombonisoGasa (Editor)

Synopsis

In bringing alive the link between past and present, we find ways of imagining our future...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. Read it!

$151.06

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 536
Edition: Pap/Com
Publisher: HSRC Press
Published: 31 Dec 2006

ISBN 10: 0796921741
ISBN 13: 9780796921741

Media Reviews
The book . . . forms part of the growing literature on subordinated classes, genders and races in society. By recounting the roles assumed by women during various periods of South African history, [this book] directly challenges the assertions and claims of the defenders of patriarchy by demonstrating that the image of women, especially African women, as silent, non-participant by-standers in history is not only false, but a function of present day ideology in the service of particular vested interests. --Dr. Z. Pallo Jordan, South African Minister of Arts and Culture
Author Bio
Nomboniso Gasa is the editor of Democracy in Nigeria: Continuing Dialogues for Nation-Building.