Abstract:
This inquiry provides a narrative on the experiences of white Afrikaner females during
1980 and 1990 in South Africa. The Defence Amendment act of 1967 declared that every
white male is to complete compulsory military service, and between 1960 and 1991 an
estimated 600 000 white South African men were conscripted into the SADF. The
conscription of white males had a profound impact on the experiences of white Afrikaner
females in South Africa. Through a narrative inquiry into a familial archive, I trace an
unknown local history that finds itself situated in the middle of the SADF’s campaign to
a militarised South Africa. I contend that these stories of the ordinary offer up an
opportunity to consider themes of whiteness, gender and memory. The inquiry identifies
the role of Apartheid institutions such as the Dutch Reformed Church and SADF in the
rise of Afrikanerdom and the lives of Afrikaners between 1980 and 1990. After the
compulsory military service for white South African men ended in 1993, it became
apparent to me that the experiences of the Border War were mainly silenced. I therefore
provide a look into the photographs, objects of memory and practices of food making
which speaks to the experiences of white Afrikaner women during 1980 and 1990 through
the exhibit 'Pakkies aan Boetie’ (2019). The inquiry also considers, through the lens of
popular culture, how Afrikaner youth born after 1994 navigate legacies of Apartheid and
conscription.
