In general, all racial and ethnic groups in South Africa have long-standing beliefs concerning gender roles, and most are based on the premise that women are less valuable, or less deserving of power, than men. Most African orthodox social organizations are male centered and male controlled. Even in the 1990s, in some rural areas of South Africa, for example, wives walk a few paces behind their husbands in keeping with orthodox practices. Afrikaner religious beliefs, too, include 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.

20th-century economic and political developments presented South African women with both new obstacles and new opportunities to wield determine. For example, labor force requirements in cities and mining areas have often drawn men away from their homes for months at a time, and, as a result, women have borne many traditionally male responsibilities in the village and home. Women have had to guarantee the day-to-day survival of their families and to carry out financial and legal transactions that otherwise would have been reserved for men.