Not just a supporting act or a backing vocalist : locating Gertrude Shope in the memory and heritage of the South African liberation struggle : towards a biography

Abstract

This study sets out to highlight the marginalisation of women with Gertrude Shope at the centre by examining her presence and absence in the memory and heritage of the South African liberation struggle. By so doing, weaving together glimpses of her life towards the ultimate writing of her biography. This thesis seeks to illustrate through the perusal of the African National Congress’ policies to redress the racial, colonial, and apartheid South African society. l argue that these policies are entrenched in masculinities and patriarchal outlooks rooted in ANC traditions. Notwithstanding the colonial and apartheid legislation that thrived on segregation and relegating Africans to the lowest barrel of society. My thesis proposes that irrespective of long periods of contribution to the liberation struggle of South Africa, women have continuously been marginalised in the memory and heritage of South Africa. While the study puts the spotlight on Gertrude Shope as one of the sidelined female leaders in the African National Congress (ANC) who contributed to the fight against the oppressive apartheid system, broadly this research seeks to highlight the importance of recognising women and their contribution in the memory and heritage of the liberation struggle of South Africa. In its thrust, this is an interdisciplinary study which chiefly lies in feminism studies and also draws from the visual, memory and oral history studies to illustrate how patriarchal attitudes and traditions within the ANC have played a role in how women are memorialised post-apartheid. I do so by also examining the South African heritage landscape and the various biographical representations such as monuments, streets, and songs.