Reconfiguring domesticity? White women and the Second World War in Southern Rhodesia

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the Second World War on white/Western women in Southern Rhodesia and looks at the nature of their contribution towards the war effort. In many ways, the war reconfigured their domesticity. While the Southern Rhodesian state and society held and promoted the home as the ideal occupation for women, this war, as it did in many other places, especially in the industrialised world, saw women increasingly moving outside the home. However, this did not necessarily mean a deviation from the dominant domestic ideology, but rather a reconfiguration of this ideology because women's contributions were channelled towards domestic oriented and related occupations. Thus the home frontiers had simply expanded to coincide with those of the colony and the empire at large. Organisations were set up to harness women's labour power and schemes were commenced with the same objective. These changes were bound to bring about friction at a number of levels because they radically affected the status quo.

Hierdie artikel bestudeer die uitwerking van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog op wit/Westerse vroue in Suid-Rhodesië, sowel as die aard van hul bydrae tot die oorlog. Die oorlog het op velerlei wyses hul huislike bestaan omvorm. Alhoewel die Suid-Rhodesiese staat en samelewing, veral ten tyde van die oorlog, tuisteskepping as die vrou se ideale ambag voorgehou het, het vroue in Suid-Rhodesië, soos vele ander in veral die industriële lande, toenemend hul huishoudings agtergelaat. Dit het egter nie beteken dat daar van die heersende huislike ideologie afgewyk is nie. Inteendeel, die ideologie is omvorm, deurdat vrouens in die rigting van huislik-verwante beroepe gestuur is. Dus is die tuisfront eenvoudig verbreed om met die van die kolonie en die Britse Ryk saam te val. Organisasies is opgerig om die vroulike arbeidsmag in te span en nuwe projekte met dieselfde doelwit is van stapel gestuur.Die verandering wat dit teweeggebring het, het noodwendig gelei tot spanning op verskeie gebiede, aangesien dit die heersende stand van sake drasties beïnvloed het.