And They Didn't Die

A detailed Summary of And They Didn't Die

In her novel "And They Didn't Die", Lauretta Ngcobo gives us a glimpse of the life of a South African woman during the Apartheid Era (1950s-1980s). The human rights efforts of African women had a long lasting and far-reaching effect on the future cultural climate of South Africa. They fought back against the unjust laws that had permeated their country. Were they successful? What price did they pay? Ngcobo attempts to answer these questions in her novel.

In order to understand the struggles of Jezile and other South Africans, it is necessary to know the history of their country. Discrimination against nonwhites was inherent in South African society from the earliest days. With the South Africa Act of 1910 the British parliament established the dominion of the Union of South Africa, with four colonies as its provinces. South African blacks had a low status in the white-dominated state. Urban blacks lived in segregated areas and could not hold office. They had no viable unions, and technical and administrative positions were closed to them. In 1914 the National Party was founded, which emphasized Afrikaner language and culture.

By 1948 the all-white National Party came to power. Segregation and inequality between races had e

Life in the reserves was an existence of poverty and hardship for the vast majority of the people. Enforced landlessness had transformed African men from self-reliant peasants to migrant laborers in the white areas. Pass laws meant that their families were forced to stay in the reserves, where the men could visit them once a year. The burden of raising children under such conditions, which fell almost exclusively on the women, became increasingly arduous. As the soil lost its fertility and landlessness became more acute, the reserve economy deteriorated. The women's role as cultivators and providers eroded, and with it, women's social status. Unlike Jezile however, rather than being major contributors to the families` livelihood, most women became increasingly dependent upon male earnings. However, these earnings were neither large nor secure. In many cases, money from the "white" areas came sporadically or not at all.

In 1952, the Natives Act substituted a single reference book for 11 existing pass laws. It was a crime for black men and women from the age of 16 upwards to be without their books, which gave their personal information and also their employment record. At the same time an amendment to the Natives Act applied strict regulations to all urban areas; a black person entering such an area had only 72 hours to find employment before being subject to arrest. Amendments to the laws in 1955, 1957, and 1964 made it increasingly difficult for blacks to qualify for permanent residence in any urban area. The aim was to control the population in such a way that only single male contract laborers could go to work in urban areas, and they could work for no more than a year before returning to the rural areas. What became known as "endorsing out" took place, which meant that Africans without work in an urban area had their passes stamped to show that they had to return to the rural areas.

xisted as a matter of custom and practice in South Africa, but after 1948 they were enshrined in law. The National Party won the general election that year in a coalition with the smaller Afrikaner Party. The United Party became the official opposition. The United Party mainly had an urban base with substantial support from English-speaking South Africans, while the National Party's support was drawn almost entirely from Afrikaans-speaking South Africans. At the heart of the National Party's legislative agenda was apartheid, Afrikaans for "separateness", a doctrine of white supremacy promoted as a program of separate development. Once in power, the National Party extended and legalized white economic exploitation, political domination, and social privilege. These doctrines were reinforced with a harsh and intrusive security system, separate and unequal education, job discrimination, and residential segregation. Such fundamental rights as protection against search without a warrant and the right to a trial were violated. A severe anti-Communist law was passed in 1950. It equated Communism with any struggle fo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Natives Act, Unlike African, National Congress, National Party, Durban Siyalo, Jezile's African, Duma Life, Women Nosizwe, Unlike Jezile, South African, african women, pass laws, south africa, national party, south africans, reference books, passes women, south african, women reference books, natives act, reference book, urban residency rights,

Approximate Word count = 2035
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels