identify with national rather than Muslim-specific
interests. The new South African Bill of Rights and
the constitution provide the basis for their deci-
sions and continued activism. Some of these Mus-
lim women played key roles in the long struggle
against apartheid and the subsequent envisioning
of a new, multicultural nation.
Located between these two positions is the prag-
matism that characterizes the majority of Muslim
women in South Africa who seek a balanced assim-
ilation, fearing the loss of their identity yet also
rejecting isolationism as self-defeating. Thus, while
they maintain constructive engagement with vari-
ous levels of government and civil society, they con-
tinue to proclaim their Islamic identity.Political leadership
Cissy Gool (d. 1963) is one of the trail blazers for
women in the field of politics. The daughter of the
famous Dr. Abdullah Abdul Rahman, the first
“Black” South African to graduate as a medical
practitioner, she served as a city councilor in Cape
Town for many years and was an instrumental role
model for other Muslim women.
Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, Muslim
women played a prominent role in national poli-
tics. Leaders included Amina Cachalia and her
older sister, Zaynab Asvat, and Fatima Meer, all of
whom were actively involved in resistance politics.
Amina Cachalia, wife of the veteran freedom
fighter Molvi Cachalia, was active in the Transvaal
Indian Congress, and became treasurer of the
Federation of South African Women which spear-
headed the Defiance Campaign, culminating in the
famous march by 20,000 women to the Union
Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the pass
laws in 1956.
The sociologist Fatima Meer (born 1928), author
of Nelson Mandela’s biography, Higher Than
Hope, and of over 40 other books and numerous
articles, is among the best-known anti-apartheid
activists. A disciple of Mahatma Gandhi’s philoso-
phy of passive resistance, she endured banning,
detention, and death threats with calm resolve. A
close friend of both Nelson and Winnie Mandela,
she is now one of the key figures in the anti-global-
ization movement in South Africa. She supported
Steve Biko’s (murdered 1975) Black Consciousness
Movement and established the Institute of Black
Studies at the University of Natal.
In the 1970s and 1980s young and old Muslim
women marched through the streets of major cities
demanding an end to apartheid. Scores were
arrested and detained, some were tortured. One of
these women, Zubeida Jaffer, a journalist by pro-578 political-social movements: ethnic and minority
fession, has recently published an autobiographical
account of her involvement in resistance politics
during the heyday of the United Democratic Front
entitled Our Generation.
Today, several Muslim women occupy key posi-
tions in government ministries such as education,
and four currently serve as members of the national
parliament: Naledi Pandor, Fatima Chohan, Farida
Mohamed, and Fatima Hujaig.
For traditionalist women, involvement in national
level politics is to be avoided because they believe
that the secular policies of the South African nation
conflict with their religious beliefs. For example,
many avoid political participation because the state
supports rights such as abortion on demand, gam-
bling, and homosexual unions. They are unlikely to
vote in elections because they do not wish to be
involved in a system which they perceive to be
essentially immoral.Social welfare and women’s
organizations
Muslim women have long been active in social
welfare and development in their communities and
form the majority of the staff of virtually every
organization dealing with social welfare issues. The
Islamic Social and Welfare association is one of the
larger and better-known groups in the Cape
Province. In the northern city of Johannesburg,
Soraya Hassim of the Islamic Relief Agency has
been carrying out important work among the desti-
tute for decades, a contemporary expression of
zakàt. The Women’s Cultural Group in Durban,
Kwa Zulu-Natal, under the guidance of Zuleikha
Mayet, has been providing financial assistance to
needy university students for decades and is a
strong example of Muslim women’s ongoing com-
mitment to educational excellence. Involvement in
social welfare groups is not only important in and
of itself but also provides a public and therefore
political voice for women. Likewise, there is a long
history of women’s organizations active in the
country. The Directory of Muslim Institutions and
Mosques in South Africaprovides a list of 20
women’s organizations. The activities of these
groups include education, social relief, propagation
of Islam, promotion of culture, and participation in
politics.Political activism in mosques
and theological councils
Most mosques in South Africa still prohibit
women from attending prayers. The Cape
Province, historically the earliest home to South
African Muslims, has a more liberal tradition and