Die rol van die vrou buite die konsentrasiekamp tydens en na die oorlog

Abstract

During the Anglo-Boer War women were not only the victims of the concentration camp system and the scorched earth policy - they were also mothers, housewives, farm managers, breadwinners, fandraisers and agitators and after the war humanitarians.
During the last three months before the war the women in towns and on the farms of the two Republics had to contend with the effect that the possibility of a war had on the economy of the two republics. Prices of food and other commodities rose sharply and the Governments of the two republics had to intervene. They also suffered cash flow problems. Regulations made it difficult to collect the salaries of government officials while banks were closing their doors and it became impossible to withdraw money from those still open. Shopkeepers also now ;nsisted on cash foor goods.
The behaviour and responsibilities of the women on the farms also took on a whole new meaning as their traditional role changed from homemaker to farm manager.
While the women in New Zealand raised fonds for the third and fourth contingents, some influential women such as Wilhemina Sheriff Bain in New Zealand, Catherine Helen Spence in Australia, Emily Hobhouse In Britain and Olive Schreiner of SouthAfrica joined the ranks of those protesting against the war. After the war the women in South Africa played an active role in organisations such as the OVV, SAVF and the ACW who had as their goal the healing of a battered nation.