Introduction

Guerrillas and Combative Mothers tells the story of the women who participated in South Africa’s armed struggle from 1961 to 1994, and of their lives in democratic South Africa. Women who were guerrillas in MK have complained about the silence and erasure of women’s contribution to the armed struggle. There are a number of veterans who have published autobiographies/ memoirs of their lives during the anti-apartheid struggle and afterwards. However, to focus only on women’s experiences of sexual violence misses the ways in which women resisted sexual harassment and violence. Furthermore, using the names of participants made it easier to triangulate the information they gave about themselves and others through available literature, newspaper records and the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), among others. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.