As discussed earlier in this chapter, by the time the NP won the 1948 general election, South Africa had lived with a socio-political structure of segregation for years. However, in an effort to create a unique Afrikaner identity, Afrikaner politicians formalised this structure by means of legislation. Grundlingh (1993:267) states:
“As a cultural and political phenomenon, a specifically ethnic and narrowly
defined Afrikaner nationalism undoubtedly left its mark on 20th century
South African history. This is about the only non-controversial statement that can be made in connection with Afrikaner nationalism.”
Its influence on the development of black nurses will be examined, but first the phenomenon itself must be understood.
4.4.1 The beginning of apartheid
The apartheid years are described as commencing with the 1948 general elections, won by the NP, and lasting until 1994 when South Africa held its first non-racial general election, thereby bringing the ANC to power. The rise and fall of apartheid can broadly be divided into three eras described as follows (Beck 2000:126; Makgoba 2006:14):
• 1948–1959: the rise of the NP
• 1959–1970s: the heyday of apartheid
• 1970s–1994: the move away from segregation policy
The NP realised that total apartheid was not practicable because black labour was needed in the mines and in industries. Therefore a social apartheid was created by means of a series of laws. The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (55 of 1949) forbade people from different cultures to marry; the Population Registration Act (30 of 1950) classified South Africans into groups of white, black and coloured persons; the 1950 Group Areas Act (41 of 1950) ensured residential separation based on race, and the Industrial Conciliation Act (28 of 1956) created industrial tribunals which ensured that certain types of work were reserved for white people (Samson 1978:48; Scher 1993:322–324).
When HF Verwoerd was appointed Minister of Native Affairs in 1950 he advocated total racial segregation and the belief that black people had to develop and govern themselves separately from white people. He did not regard black people as permanent urban residents and therefore introduced bills to keep them in designated areas. The Natives Act (54 of 1952) was implemented to control the influx of black people into the cities. For the first time, African women also had to carry “passes” (a
book allowing them to travel outside the boundaries of their designated area). The Act was amended in 1956 so that black people were only allowed to remain in proclaimed (white) areas for 72 hours at any given time, unless they had a permit stating otherwise. Their permits to stay longer elapsed when their employment was terminated. By law, the only black persons who were allowed to stay in urban areas were those born there; those who had lived continuously there for 15 years, or those who had worked continuously for the same employer for at least 10 years (Scher 1993:346–248).
When Verwoerd was elected Prime Minister in 1958, he changed the name of the Department of Native Affairs to that of Bantu Administration and Development. At this time, other countries in Africa were gaining their freedom and independence. It was the start of African nationalism. Verwoerd’s reaction to this was to offer black people so- called ‘homelands’ which eventually would become politically independently governed territories but economically interdependent. He did this by means of the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Bill 46 of 1959 which aimed to develop eight national homelands. Urban black people were expected to link with one of these homelands (Scher 1993:355–357).
4.4.2 Black South Africans react to the system of apartheid
Black South Africans protested against the apartheid laws by means of the “defiance campaign” which started on 26 June 1952. Three years later, on 26 June 1955, the Freedom Charter was drawn up. African women played an important role in the protest actions of the 1950s; the most notable contribution being the 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 to protest against the carrying of passes. After years of protest and political unrest, the turning point for apartheid policy came after the events of 1976–1977 which included the Soweto uprisings. The integration process started in 1983 when South Africa adopted a new constitution and a three-tier parliament. By 1988, political changes to the apartheid system were urgently needed for the country to recover and prevent total meltdown. This meant that the NP government as well as the ANC had to consider changes to their political viewpoints (Beck 2000:162, 165–180; Scher 1993:378–379, 383).
4.4.3 The influence of apartheid on the development of the nursing profession
Ironically, apartheid created circumstances which greatly stimulated the professional development of African registered nurses. Owing to the apartheid government’s policy of separate development, hospitals were dedicated to care for patients based on their ethnicity: black persons in one hospital and white persons in another. There was also a drive to implement the same principle with regard to nursing staff. White nurses were gradually removed from so-called non-European hospitals and they needed to be replaced by trained black nurses. Suddenly the need to train black registered nurses and nursing managers became so urgent that posts were created to which only black nurses could be appointed (Cheater 1974:156–157; SANA 1980:25; Searle 1972:278– 279).
The growth in the numbers of trained black nurses is evident from statistics provided by Searle (1972:279) regarding the Transvaal hospital services. In 1950, there were no black matrons (nursing managers), no student midwives, and only nine registered black nurses in service. By 1960, these numbers had changed significantly: there were 13 matrons, 100 student midwives and 1 137 registered black nurses in service. Although the numbers seemed impressive, one must take into account that it had taken 10 years to reach this number and it was in only one province of the country. By 1974, the ratio of qualified (registered) nurses in relation to the population of the country as a whole (South Africa and South West Africa/Namibia) were 1:1 111 for black people in comparison to 1:175 for white people (SAVV 1975:10).
4.5 SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENTRY OF BLACK