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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women, History and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission |
Author: | Stevenson, Judith |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | Ufahamu |
Volume: | 26 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | Winter |
Pages: | 77-101 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | gender relations national liberation movements commissions of inquiry women Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Women's Issues Law, Human Rights and Violence Ethnic and Race Relations History and Exploration Historical/Biographical Cultural Roles Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights Politics and Government Status of Women |
Abstract: | The war against apartheid in South Africa could not have been waged, let alone won, without the participation of women at every level. However, in the national memory and the construction of history women have been silenced. This paper focuses on the gendering of voices and silences in the production of the country's history by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). After it was observed that women were not coming forward to testify in front of male commissioners with male audiences, special hearings were held for women. The paper pays attention to two testimonies made by women, one of them Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. It shows how difficult is was for these women to have their voices heard. Despite the TRC's effort at creating a venue where women could come forward, many experiences have yet to be told. The reasons for this failure lie beyond simple arguments that men silence women. Women's political organizational styles tend to separate them from historical acknowledgement and sanctioned political significance. Notes, ref. |