Women soldiers and white unity in apartheid South Africa

Abstract

White society in apartheid South Africa is characterised by marked racism and sexism. Nonetheless, despite the legal and economic barriers to women’s equality and a highly developed ideology of the inferiority of women, white women have served in the military for more than fifteen years. This study examines some of the ambiguities that have resulted from the recruitment of white women for white South Africa in general and the South African Defence Force (SADF) in particular.