Beyond borders: A transnational history of the Black Sash and FEDSAW, c. 1952 – 62

Abstract

The multiracial Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) and the exclusively white Black Sash represented South African women fighting against apartheid in the 1950s and ‘60s. Despite being two well-known female organisations in anti-apartheid activism, this is the first piece of research where they have been studied and analysed from a transnational perspective. This thesis argues transnationalism was fundamental for both organisations’ growth and development in the 1950s and ‘60s. The term has been interpreted and defined as the movement of ideas and knowledge that transcends physical boundaries, which created opportunities that encouraged South African women to take part in global events and tours, sharing experiences and gaining support from international audiences and organisations. Importantly, transnationalism enabled FEDSAW and the Black Sash to further develop their ideological stance as independent women’s organisations in a racially and politically divided South Africa. Additionally, transnationalism helped to re-instate the organisations’ aims and further embedded them in anti-apartheid activism, thereby positioning South African women alongside their male counterparts in fighting for racial equality and cementing them in the wider national liberation movement. The transnational framework also links the Federation and the Black Sash to South Africa’s earlier women’s movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, demonstrating that South African women were more politically active and motivated than previously thought. Through undertaking a transnational framework, light is shed on South African women’s history during apartheid, and new insights on both organisations are uncovered, highlighting their contribution to anti-apartheid activism through transnationalism.