Women And The Colonial Economy

The lives of African women were altered by colonial economies in many ways. Women had a lot of responsibilities aside from child care and household duties, they were almost equal to men in labor plus more. There was a lot of expectation for women and duties they needed to fulfill. This does not surprise me at all because till this day women still carry the amont of responsibility and roles that men do not give women credit for. It surprised me to read how women working hours increased from fourty six hours per week in pre colonial times to more than seventy hours per week by 1934. That's crazy! While men took advantage and profited off of cash crop agriculture they took no consideration to the women who helped make things work. Women took care of things at home and even took care of the men who worked in the cities and who earned low wages. This time in South Africa basically seperated married couple, men were in the cities while woman took care of life at home. Women learned how to get through these tough times and took certain opportunities in economic enterprising. Beyond the roles woman played during this time European and African men still tried to control woman, which is not a surprise because women till this day are still fighting for their equality.