ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the untold and misrepresented stories of women in South Africa. The migratory labour system distorted the role of the chiefs, feeding on precolonial practices that expected most men to go out to find food as hunters and herders, while women farmed the land and managed the home. A historical perspective that focuses on white women's lives often concludes that they had many of the privileges afforded to white men, but in being subjugated by patriarchy, they earned less than their male counterparts. Many white women saw themselves as members of a privileged group, but still complained that they were afforded fewer privileges than white males. Freedom Park needs to look at how it can make true its stated mandate in respect of gender when by "[r]ecognising the traditional gender bias of historical narrative, all elements of this interpretation will be cognisant and inclusive of the contribution of women to the history and heritage of South Africa".
