One prevailing caricature of Afrikaner religious beliefs includes a strong emphasis on the theoretically biblically based notion that women's contributions to society should normally be approved by, or be on behalf of, men.

Claims are even made of modern sexism and Christianity being introduced into South Africa by the ancestors of the Afrikaner diaspora.

[4][5][6] 20th century economic and political developments presented South African women with both new obstacles and new opportunities to wield influence.

Women often left their own families to commute long distances to plow-wage jobs in the domestic work force in white neighborhoods.

Women became the major source of resistance to many race-related restrictions during the apartheid era, especially the pass laws, which required Africans to carry documents permitting them to be in white-occupied areas.

The Women's Defence of the Constitution League, later known as the Black Sash, was formed in 1955, first to demonstrate against such laws and later to assist pass-law violators.

[8] Black Sash established pass-law advice centers in many cities and helped reduce sentences or assist violators in other ways.

This organization was named for its distinctive Voortrekker dress, which caused some young Afrikaners and others to ridicule its members' appearance and their militancy.

The Afrikanervroue-Kenkrag (AVK), another Afrikaner women's organization, was formed in 1983 and worked primarily to oppose racial integration in schools and other public places.

The ANCWL was resurrected in 1990, after the ban on the ANC was lifted, and women in more than 500 towns and cities organized to press for consideration of gender issues in the upcoming constitutional negotiations.

Other symbolic gains by the ANCWL have included strong policy stands on women's rights and protection against abuse and exploitation, but translating these standards into enforceable laws proved to be a difficult task.

More urgent priorities are to eliminate the vestiges of apartheid legislation and to improve economic and social conditions for the very poor, for children, and for other groups that were especially disadvantaged in recent decades.

[11] The marital power persisted, however, in the Transkei (which was nominally independent from 1976 to 1994) but it was held to be unconstitutional for civil marriages by the High Court in 1999.

Despite the strong legal framework, sexual violence is very common in South Africa; in one study one in four men admitted to having committed rape.

[23] In South Africa, the virgin cleansing myth is still prevalent, leading to high rates of child sexual abuse.

[24] In September 2019, on the third day of protests, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, disclosed the violence against women in his country as national crisis.

[27] Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are of major public health concern, especially in developing countries where the risk of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are high.

[29] Women's vaginal practices, which include the cleansing, treatment of infections, pampering, and use of beauty products, affects their sexual and reproductive health and susceptibility to STI.

[30] A large percentage of women in South Africa engage in intra-vaginal product use, i.e. douching, which increases their chances for HIV infection.

However, in South Africa, there are conflicting reports on the prevalence of maternal and neonatal mortality, derived from both direct and indirect estimation techniques.

South Africa's Constitution recognizes and protects the rights of all citizens to have access to safe, effective, appropriate and affordable reproductive education, contraception and health services.

[32] For example, the age of consent in South Africa for women is 16, with the law requiring mandatory reporting of youths engaged in underage sex.