This essay is going to discuss the overview of Apartheid, the Population Registration Act and the life of Sandra Laing and how the Population Registration Act affected her.

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This essay is going to discuss the overview of Apartheid (an official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites), the Population Registration Act (required people to be identified and registered from birth as one of four distinct racial groups) and the life of Sandra Laing and how the Population Registration Act affected her.  

The term apartheid comes from the Afrikaans word for “apartness” and it was formed in the 1930’s. In 1948, the nationalist party which was ruled by Afrikaners won the elections by the public’s opinions on segregation and racism, and enforced stricter laws on “non-white” people. All actions that were taken were set by the policy of apartheid. Apartheid has had a huge effect on South Africa as human rights were denied to the majority of South African people because of their race and they wanted to weaken the position of black people in the nation, both economically and socially. A huge economic divide was created where whites made a lot more money than blacks. Apartheid provided whites with access to the most privileged suburbs, education, jobs and positions, even to the extent of exclusive access to beaches, theatres, parks and public toilets. Blacks however were excluded from these accesses by law, if they were to break these laws they were ruthlessly enforced by the police. Pass laws were introduced in Apartheid which required black people to have an identification book for when they were in residential areas or reserves, these books contained details of their employment and right of residence in which they had to produce to the police if they were ever caught in an area that was restricted to them. If they never had access to their pass they would be taken to prison.

This was the pass the blacks had to use to enter residential areas, and the passes were checked by the police if you were seen in a white’s area.

Coloureds and Indians enjoyed more privileges than blacks, but all “non-whites'” were at a great disadvantaged compared to whites.  If people were to rebel against these laws they would be cruelly punished. One of the main reasons why apartheid started was because in South Africa the minority of the country was white and many of them were worried that they wouldn’t be able to get jobs or that their jobs would be replaced by the majority of the people in South Africa which were black or that their cultures and language would be replaced with theirs.

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Many laws were passed during Apartheid in the 1950’s this era was called “the petty apartheid” which segregated everyday places. There was the Separate Amenities Act, this was allowing the white people to have better facilities to blacks, there was the Group Areas Act, and this restricted “non-whites” from restraunts, concerts, and cinemas with threats of fines if they were to enter these restricted areas.

Whites only sign for the beach stating that only whites

are allowed on that beach.

Bantu Education Act, this was an inferior ...

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