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Main Features of the Apartheid
Introduction
The Apartheid, in general, refers to the system of racial segregation in South Africa which
was enforced through legislation by the ruling party in the country from 1948 to 1994. Under this
particular system, the dominance of the white minority is maintained while the movements of the
black inhabitants and other ethnic groups have been effectively restricted. It is in this respect that
the basic premise of the apartheid rests on the principle that the different races in South Africa
must be separated to enable them to develop their own ways. This system is thus of paramount
importance to help the white South Africans maintain control of the country and thus prevent the
blacks from asserting their dominance.
The system of apartheid finds basis in the prevalence of racial segregation in South Africa
which can be traced back to the colonial times. The abuses that accompanied the system of
apartheid and the discrimination underlying the same resulted to internal resistance and violence.
It also ushered in an era of notable figures, the most important being Nelson Mandela who
actively fought for the eradication of the apartheid. Without a doubt, the system of the apartheid
shaped and has continuously helped determine the politics and society of South Africa. The main
features of the apartheid defined not just the very institution but South African institution most
especially during the time that it was set in place.1
1 Clark, Nancy and Worger, William. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of the Apartheid. US:
Routledge, 2011. Print, 190.

Main Features of the Apartheid

There system of Apartheid, as earlier mentioned, rests on the basic premise that the different
races in South Africa must be kept separate and distinct from each other. Thompson2 states that
at the heart of the apartheid system were four ideas: first, the population of South Africa is
comprised of four racial groups; second, the whites, as the civilized race were entitled to have
absolute control over the state; third, white interests should prevail over black interests; and
fourth, the white racial group formed a single nation. Such separation is considered of utmost
significance in order to maintain the dominance of the white South Africans. It is in this respect
that one of the main features of the apartheid is that only the white South Africans are considered
full citizens. On the contrary, the black South Africans, other ethnic groups and other colored
people are considered as mere foreigners living in the country. It is in this respect that the black
South Africans are often subjected to abuses from the police. Mathabane writes a compelling
account of the abuses to which black South Africans have been subjected and the underlying
basis of the apartheid The pass laws, common before the Apartheid period, now become even
more restrictive, with arrests of thousands of ordinary Africans on the flimsiest of infractions,
often accompanied by their super exploitation on forced labor farms.3 Mathabane also states: Yet
the white man of South African claims to the rest of the world that he knows what is good for the
black people and what it takes for a black child to grow up to adulthood. He vaunts aloud that
his blacks in South Africa are well fed and materially better off under the chains of the
apartheid than their liberated brothers and sisters in the rest of Africa. But in truth, these claims
and boasts are hollow.4
2 Thompson, Leonard. History of South Africa, Third Edition. CA: Sage Publications, 2010.
Print, 190.
3 Limb, Peter. Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom. UK: Greenwood Press, 2008, Print, 48
4 Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy, part 1. UK: Wiley, 2009, Print, 3.

Aside from this, the apartheid also denies the black South Africans access to their basic rights
such as education. It has been mentioned that education of the black youth greatly suffered when
the 1953 Bantu Education Act was promulgated. Under the said law, an inferior education system
was created based on the underlying premise that the black South Africans were merely carriers
of wood and water. Aside from this, the black South Africans were likewise prevented from
attending white universities, maintaining the separation of races even in educational
institutions.5
Indeed, the government itself was established to favor the white South Africans- The nationalist
government also gave fierce expressions to its determination to white supremacy in postwar
South Africa. Much of its early legislation coordinated and extended the racial laws of the
segregation era and tightened up the administration of those laws.6 Furthermore, the laws have
also eliminated the voting rights of the colored and African people. In this respect, there is no
question that the rights of the colored people and their participation in the government have been
effectively denied during the period wherein the system of apartheid has been in effect. Finally,
intermarriages between races are expressly prohibited under the law in the implementation of the
system of apartheid.7
Conclusion
The system of apartheid, in general, rests on four important ideas, to wit: (1) the population of
South Africa is divided into four racial groups; (2) the white South Africans are the civilized
race; (3) the interests of the whites should assume importance at all times and that the
government is in no way mandated to give the blacks equal facilities as they are an inferior race;
and lastly, (4) the white racial group is a single nation. It is based on these four principles that
5 Limb, 49.
6 Thompson, 189.
7 Thompson, 190.

under the system of Apartheid, the black South Africans are subjected to violence, discrimination
and abuses, as evidenced by a member of accounts on the matter.

Works Cited
Clark, Nancy and Worger, William. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of the Apartheid. US:
Routledge, 2011. Print, 190.
Limb, Peter. Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom. UK: Greenwood Press, 2008, Print, 48
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy, part 1. UK: Wiley, 2009, Print, 3.

Thompson, Leonard. History of South Africa, Third Edition. CA: Sage Publications, 2010. Print,
190.