28. 1950-1990 - Decolonizing Women
Die Industrielle Revolution markierte eine Ära, in der Arbeit, Produktion und Wirtschaftswachstum die Gesellschaften weltweit nachhaltig veränderten. Sie brachte auch bedeutende Veränderungen für Frauen mit sich. Frauen eröffneten sich neue Karrierewege und Führungspositionen in der Arbeitswelt, was ihnen neue Aufstiegschancen und sogar die Möglichkeit bot, die traditionelle soziale Hierarchie zu durchbrechen. Gewerkschaftsstreiks und Proteste für das Wahlrecht läuteten den Beginn kultureller und gesellschaftlicher Veränderungen hinsichtlich der Rolle der Frau in der Gesellschaft ein. Mit dem Wandel unserer Industrien und der globalen Wirtschaft veränderten sich auch die Berufe, Chancen und Lebensumstände von Frauen in dieser Zeit.
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Herausgeber des Remedial Herstory Project. „24. 1850–1950 – Die industrielle Revolution der Frauen“. Das Remedial Herstory Project. 1. November 2025. www.remedialherstory.com.
Triggerwarnung: Dieses Kapitel thematisiert Vergewaltigung und sexuelle Übergriffe.
Die Industrielle Revolution begann um 1750 in England aufgrund der dort verfügbaren natürlichen Ressourcen (im Inland und im riesigen Kolonialreich) und der Umstellung auf kapitalistische Produktionsweisen. Sie führte zu tiefgreifenden gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen, unter anderem hinsichtlich der Art der Arbeit, des Wohnorts und des Alltags. Diese grundlegenden Veränderungen zogen auch systemische Umwälzungen nach sich, beispielsweise in Bezug auf Machtverhältnisse, deren Verteilung und Lage. Viele Frauen der Arbeiterklasse wechselten von Tätigkeiten als Hausangestellte, Weberinnen und Ladenbesitzerinnen zu Fabrikarbeiterinnen. Ihre zunehmende Beteiligung am öffentlichen Leben außerhalb des Hauses, verbunden mit den unmenschlichen Arbeitsbedingungen in den Fabriken, führte zu verstärktem politischen Engagement und schließlich zu Forderungen nach politischen Rechten.
Textil (Subst.) , eine Art Stoff oder gewebtes Gewebe.
Fügsam (Adj.) , bereit, Kontrolle oder Anweisungen anzunehmen; unterwürfig.
Monotonie (Subst.) , Mangel an Abwechslung und Interesse; ermüdende Wiederholung und Routine
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Vor der Industrialisierung
Die Industrielle Revolution brachte in England grundlegende Veränderungen mit sich, die sich dann in ganz Europa und später in vielen anderen Gesellschaften ausbreiteten. Die Warenproduktion verlagerte sich von kleinen Manufakturen, in denen Handwerkerinnen und Handwerker ihrem Gewerbe lokal und spezialisiert nachgingen, hin zur Massenproduktion in Fabriken, die Dampf- und Wasserkraft nutzten.
In der vorindustriellen Welt hatten Frauen mehr Kontrolle über ihren Alltag. Diejenigen, die in der Produktion tätig waren, arbeiteten typischerweise im Familienbetrieb mit ihren Eltern oder ihrem Ehepartner zusammen. Ähnlich wie in bäuerlichen Familien waren die meisten Familienmitglieder in die Arbeit eingebunden – sei es im Design, in der Produktion, im Verpacken oder im Vertrieb von Waren. Sie halfen beim Betrieb der Läden oder Marktstände, kauften die benötigten Materialien ein und koordinierten die Lieferungen.
Mit der Verlagerung ihrer Arbeit in die Fabriken arbeiteten Frauen zwar etwa gleich viele Stunden, verrichteten aber körperlich extrem anstrengende und monotone Arbeit. Nach ihrer Rückkehr nach Hause waren sie weiterhin für ihre häuslichen Pflichten zuständig. In der vorindustriellen Welt war die Kinderbetreuung möglich, da die Kinder stets in der Nähe waren; in der industrialisierten Welt hingegen arbeiteten auch die Kinder.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Gold Coast (n.), a region on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa that extended from Ghana to the Volta River, known for the trade of gold.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Die industrielle Revolution
There had long been resistance to British colonization in India, but after World War I ended in 1919, Indian leaders began fighting for their freedom from the British Empire. They were not successful in achieving this until after the end of WWII, which saw both Indian participation and resistance, and their arguments included the Indian service in the World Wars along with the hypocrisy of the Allied messaging about oppression while maintaining populations like their own as colonies.
India had two major ethnic groups: Hindus (who were the majority) and Muslims (who were the minority). While many Hindus wanted a united India after British rule, some Muslims, especially leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were concerned about being a minority in a majority Hindu nation. In 1947, Lord “Dickie” Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India and cousin to the king of England, arrived in India to settle the exit plan. Prime Minister Clement Attlee and his cabinet set a deadline for Mountbatten, giving him until June 1948 to facilitate an agreement between the major political party leaders in India, aiming for collaboration within a unified federation.
As the state of affairs became increasingly hostile, Mountbatten abandoned this last opportunity for the British Imperial Raj to leave India as a single, independent government. Instead, he opted to follow the desires of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and divide British India into separate dominions of India and Pakistan - a decision known as “The Partition.” Mountbatten’s wife, Edwina, played an interesting role in partition. She had an affair with Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India and leader of the independence efforts. The affair played a significant role in history as Edwina convinced Nehru to accept dominion status for India in 1947, speeding up the process. Their affair continued long after the Mountbattens returned to England after the Partition.
Refugees on a train during the Partition.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Textil (Subst.) , eine Art Stoff oder gewebtes Gewebe.
Fügsam (Adj.) , bereit, Kontrolle oder Anweisungen anzunehmen; unterwürfig.
Monotonie (Subst.) , Mangel an Abwechslung und Interesse; ermüdende Wiederholung und Routine
Indira Gandhi with her husband and children.
Pluralism (n.), a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist.
Indira Gandhi with American First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.
While this was looked at as the fastest solution, the quick decision and poorly drawn partition lines in North India's significant provinces, Punjab and Bengal, cut through the homelands of millions of people whose communal and familial lines could not be divided so easily. For Indian women, division led to millions of deaths due to communal and religious violence as people moved to the “correct” side of the border. Women, with limited power, suffered greatly from gender-based violence. Widespread sexual assault occurred during the Partition, including rapes, public humiliation, mutilation, and marking of bodies with opposing religious symbols.
In one particularly tragic incident in the Thoa Khalsa village, around 90 women jumped into a well in March 1947 to avoid confrontation with the enemy. For some, it may have been a personal decision, but others might have felt compelled due to the unique circumstances. Equally tragic, some Sikh women, whose religion was not given a designated land, were tragically killed by their own relatives to prevent them from adopting a different religion. Other women, facing pressure and with little control, might have taken their own lives.
Later on, women who survived the violence were denied agency during the Central Recovery Operation (1948–1956) by the governments of India and Pakistan. This operation aimed to return abducted women to their families, but the women themselves often had limited say in the matter. Some had already converted, married, and built new lives and their return may not have been desired.
Almost a decade later, Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, became the first female prime minister of India, serving for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984. Throughout Gandhi’s reign, India continued to grapple with poverty, pluralism, inequality of wealth and education, and continuing provincial and communal violence; the worst of which erupted in Punjab.
It has been said that Indira Gandhi’s “soft-spoken, attractive personality masked her iron will and autocratic ambition, and most of her Congress contemporaries underestimated her drive and tenacity.” While it is not unusual for men to underestimate the political acumen of women, Gandhi proved one of the most influential Indian leaders – for better or for worse. She undoubtedly made history by becoming the first female leader of her independent nation. She appeared to defeat seemingly more conservative branches of governments, improved the economy (albeit at a high cost to public well-being), and led India to decisive victories in controversial but still celebrated wars abroad.
However, Gandhi’s initial promise as a pioneering feminist icon was dampened by her administration’s policies which increasingly punished the most vulnerable in society and abused their power at the expense of the lives of their own citizens. For example, Gandhi’s troubling policies of forced sterilization for certain women in her society is a paradoxical degradation of her fellow women despite her own feminist achievements. She also played a disastrous role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which will always cast a dark shadow over her reign, and eventually led to her assassination in 1984.
However, India is - at least according to recent statistics on women’s education, employment, and domestic violence - the most patriarchal society in the world. So, while her career was by no means spotless, Gandhi deserves some credit for rising above the gender norms of her society and achieving a position of power which, at the time, even women in supposedly more progressive Western countries had not achieved. Perhaps India’s conflict between the worshiping empowerment and patriarchal degradation of women is perfectly embodied in the figure of Indira Gandhi. Today, she is a controversial and complex figure, but she undoubtedly deserves her place as one of history’s most influential female politicians.
Kohlebergwerke
Für Frauen aus der Arbeiterklasse war die beste Beschäftigungsmöglichkeit die Arbeit als Hausangestellte – typischerweise bei einer wohlhabenden Familie aus der Gegend. Danach folgte die Fabrikarbeit, und die schlechteste Option war die Arbeit in einem Kohlebergwerk.
Die sechsjährige Mary Davis wurde von einem Regierungsinspektor schlafend in einem walisischen Bergwerk gefunden. Sie erklärte: „Ich bin eingeschlafen, weil meine Lampe wegen Ölmangels ausgegangen war. Ich hatte Angst, weil mir jemand Brot und Käse gestohlen hatte. Ich glaube, es waren die Ratten.“ Ein anderes, ebenfalls sechsjähriges Mädchen, dessen Name nicht genannt wurde, beschrieb ihre schwere Arbeit: „Ich bin seit sechs Wochen im Bergwerk und mache zehn bis vierzehn Rechengänge am Tag. Ich trage 25 Kilo Kohle in einem Holzeimer. Ich arbeite mit meiner Schwester Jesse und meiner Mutter. Es ist dunkel, wenn wir anfangen.“ Auch die Aussage der Teenagerin Maria Gooder verdeutlicht das Ausmaß ihrer Not. Sie behauptete: „Ich eile mit meiner Schwester Anne, die achtzehn wird, zu einem Mann. Er ist gut zu uns. Ich mag es nicht, in der Grube zu sein. Ich bin müde und habe Angst. Ich gehe um 4:30 Uhr, nachdem ich Haferbrei gefrühstückt habe. Um 5 Uhr beginne ich zu eilen. Wir essen mittags zu Abend. Wir bekommen trockenes Brot und sonst nichts. Es gibt Wasser in der Grube, aber wir trinken es nicht.“
Mary Enock arbeitete mit ihrer Schwester in den Minen und war erst elf Jahre alt, und ihre Geschichte ist vielleicht die anschaulichste. Sie sagte:
Wir sind Türsteher im Viertel „Vier-Fuß- Ebene“ . Wir verlassen das Haus jeden Morgen vor sechs Uhr und bleiben bis sieben Uhr, manchmal auch länger, im Viertel. Wir bekommen zwei Pence am Tag, und unser Strom kostet uns zweieinhalb Pence pro Woche. Rachel war in einer Tagesschule und kann schon ein bisschen lesen. Sie wurde vor einiger Zeit von einer Straßenbahn angefahren und war lange krank zu Hause, aber sie hat sich erholt.
Mary und ihre Schwester mussten sich zwischen Licht in einem stockfinsteren Kohlebergwerk und einem höheren Lohn entscheiden, und eine Arbeitsunfallverletzung, wie sie ihre Schwester erlitten hatte, war einfach an der Tagesordnung.
Women in the FLN.
Gemälde mit dem Titel „Königin Bertha und die Spinnerinnen“, das traditionelle Textilarbeiten von Frauen darstellt.
Ausbeutung von Arbeiterinnen
Similar protests and uprising were occurring from the northernmost to the southernmost part of Africa. In the nation of South Africa, desires for independence had long been brewing. South Africa was colonized first by the Dutch East India Company from 1652, and permanently by the British from 1806. After the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902), the British gave South Africa dominion status as the Union of South Africa, in which political rights were given exclusively to white men. Division and oppression was sown all the more deeply in 1948, as apartheid - a system of political, social, and economic oppression - was instituted. This, and the ongoing effects of the development of mining in South Africa from the late 19th century, devastated African families.
In rural areas, men moved to work on the gold and diamond mines, and in the cities, women were left to manage the homestead. However, in cities, women faced discrimination from white government authorities who opposed their permanent presence, and even policies forbade African women to move to the cities unless they worked for white households. The government viewed them as a threat to their vision of a white population with temporary Black labor in urban areas. Life for women in cities was a struggle, but they managed to carve out a place for themselves, often finding informal work such as housekeeping or selling goods. Some resorted to illegal activities like brewing beer to make ends meet.
Most stayed in the rural areas looking after the children, working in fields to produce food for the family, and spending a significant amount of time fetching water since rural villages lacked a water supply. Yet, when food became scarce in rural areas, many women had to move to cities in search of work, leaving their children with grandmothers. Poverty played a major role in transforming their identity from mothers and caregivers to workers in cities where they were not welcomed.
The 1960s brought significant changes to Africa. While many African countries challenged and overthrew colonial rule, the white government in South Africa tightened its control over the Black population. In this unique case, it was not the matter of a foreign oppressor, but a domestic one.
Black people, including through organizations like African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), protested against them. The Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 was a pivotal moment in the fight against apartheid, leading to a state of emergency, ANC and PAC bans, and an armed struggle against the apartheid government. In 1961, male leaders in independence organizations were arrested and charged with treason, and in 1963, prominent figures like Nelson Mandela were sentenced to life imprisonment, effectively silencing them.
Die Spinning Jenny
Women like Frene Ginwala, Dorothy Nyembe, Ruth First, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela played crucial roles in the anti-apartheid struggle. Ginwala helped establish and manage an underground network of safehouses to help political activists hide from police and escape the country when necessary. Dorothy Nyembe, jailed during anti-apartheid struggle, faced harsh treatment during imprisonment, but remained dedicated and loyal to the cause. Ruth First faced detention and exile after the Sharpeville Massacre, and was ultimately assassinated by the Apartheid government in 1982.
These women’s resilience and courage were essential in dismantling the oppressive regime and paving the way for a more inclusive South Africa. Speaking to the spirit of women independence fighters, Florence Maleka said, "Women of South Africa, we pledge ourselves to intensify the struggle until apartheid has been eradicated, until the last bastion of colonialism and imperialism on the African continent has been overthrown and until South Africa is a free, democratic, non-racist and non-sexist country that truly belongs to all who live in it." For some women, that meant that the diplomatic and peaceful path was not the only one they could contribute to.
Women increasingly joined Umkhonto we Sizwe - the paramilitary wing of the ANC - fighting alongside men in the armed revolutionary struggle. The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed on August 20, 1983, advocating for non-racialism and supporting the ideals of the Freedom Charter. Women played a central role in UDF structures and campaigns at every level. Women such as Cheryl Carolus and Amy Thornton galvanized the youth and helped create intergenerational and wide civic alliances. Albertina Sisulu was elected as one of the three co-presidents, even while in jail at the time. The UDF Women's Congress addressed discrimination and prejudices against women, fighting against the patriarchal society's power dynamics where women were treated as second-class citizens, expected to fulfill specific roles and often subjected to domestic violence without recourse to justice.
Nelson Mandela is arguably the most prominent figure in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, yet he owed much of his success to the support of his wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. She played an instrumental role in mobilizing support, providing solace to families affected by apartheid, and amplifying the voices of the oppressed. She endured years of confinement and played a significant role in the ANC Women's League, serving as a figurehead while her husband was imprisoned.
However, not unlike Gandhi, she illustrates the fact that women in power can be as complex and complicated as their male counterparts. Her legacy was tainted by her calls to set apartheid collaborators on fire and being implicated in a reign of terror that resulted in violence and the murder of several people in South Africa, including 14-year-old Stompie Seipei. She herself would be found accountable for human rights violations committed by her personal security detail, masquerading as a football club, at a time when they were fighting against the human rights violations of the Apartheid government.
In the 1990s, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and along with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the multitude of rights violations that occurred during apartheid. Tutu begged Madikizela-Mandela to apologize for her crimes before the commission, which she begrudgingly did. Gender double standards are evident, as no male politician was asked to apologize in the same way. She continued to be a member of the National Assembly through much of her life, and until her death in 2018 despite ongoing indications of criminal activity and corruption. While much of her reputation is muddied, some argue that her use or condoning of violence merely matched what the government was using against her people, and she was willing to cross the same lines that male leaders in sociopolitical uprisings had crossed countless times before her.
Apartheid (n.), a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
Kinderarbeiter in einer Textilfabrik
Bastion (n.), an institution, place, or person strongly defending or upholding particular principles, attitudes, or activities.
Paramilitary (adj.), (of an unofficial force) organized similarly to a military force.
1984 poster of Viola Hashe speaking at a 1952 rally during the "Defiance Campaign".
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Double Standard (n.), a rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups.
Mittel- und Oberschicht
The lives of women in the Global South continue to be diverse and measured by the long history of colonialism and decolonization. The decolonization and dismantling of European empires opened up broad opportunities in social, political, and economic spheres across the globe, but does not mean that those changes were universally progressive - especially as it relates to women. Much remains to be done for women, and women’s rights are the greatest humanitarian issue of the modern era.
We must continue to ask - how has colonization affected populations in the long term? How will the global community work together to repair the damages of colonialism? What role will women leaders play in this work?