Meaning and definition of apartheid

Summary

Apartheid (Afrikaans for “separateness” or “apart-ness”) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) that operated from 1948 to 1994. It was designed to keep political, social, and economic power in the hands of the minority white population, with white citizens holding the highest status and other racial groups ranked below them. Apartheid was implemented through laws that classified people by race and controlled where they could live, work, and move. It included both “petty apartheid” (segregation in everyday public facilities and social life) and “grand apartheid” (strict segregation of housing and employment opportunities). The system also relied on measures such as forced removals and the homeland (Bantustan) strategy, which aimed to restrict Black South Africans to designated areas and deny them full citizenship in “white” South Africa, while maintaining white dominance.

Key Points

• 1

  Apartheid was an institutionalised racial segregation system in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to 1994.

• 2

  It enforced a hierarchy of racial status, with whites dominating politically, socially, and economically.

• 3

  Apartheid operated through laws that classified people by race, segregated public life (petty apartheid), and segregated housing and jobs (grand apartheid).

• 4

  It used forced removals and the Bantustan/homeland system to limit Black citizenship and control where people could live and work.