“Apartheid – both both petty and grand – is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority.”
–Steven Biko
The Apartheid was a law passed by the National Party, a minority all white government that forced racial segregation in such a way that the South African, that constituted as the majority of the population, were forced out of their homes, their land sold off at cheap prices, and sent to ‘black territories’ called Bantustan. Public facilities were made different for both the races and intermarriage was prohibited by the law.
Severe oppression manifested in different forms of protests throughout the year. Initially, they started off peaceful non-violent protests and strikes that soon turned into armed resistance due to the refusal of the government to change or abolish the law. The police would often open fire at the protestants with tear gas and bullets which attracted international attention. Countries like the US, where the people started opposing the regime, allowed a concrete decision against the Apartheid regime to be made. The US even imposed tough sanctions on South Africa that put the country in economic distress and ultimately led to the abolishment of the law in 1994 after which Nelson Mandela was elected as the president of South Africa. This perhaps, is a milestone achievement due to the fact that the entire world united against the discriminatory laws in the country and collectively put international pressure on the government, that represented the minority, to revise its laws.