ABSTRACT
The experiences of women in MK illuminate the fact that it was the national liberation movements that needed to transform their patriarchal cultures to keep up with women’s expansive visions of substantive equality. Guerrillas and Combative Mothers has importantly moved the focus on women and the armed struggle beyond the narrow focus on MK women. The role of Poqo women and that of urban-based combative mothers helpfully moves the reader away from a narrow focus on formally trained combatants as the arbiters of armed struggle participation. Unfortunately, the silence and reduction of women’s contributions to a rumour almost 30 years into democracy should not be surprising. Whether colonially imposed states remain in Africa, the experience of women in the armed struggle shows that current challenges cannot be addressed without women’s participation and agitation for structural transformation.
