The Apartheid Years
Until 1994, South Africa was ruled by a racist system known as apartheid, which means 'separateness' in the Afrikaans language. Although this system was watered down in its final years, apartheid was a way of the minority white population controlling the rest of the population by separating racial groups from one another in schools, housing, transport and other public facilities. At the height of apartheid, laws meant that as a non-white South African...

You could not leave certain areas You could not own land You could not vote	Segregated toilets in Johannesburg, 1984. � Eric Miller/Panos Pictures	You could not take part in a strike or join a union You could not attend white schools or universities
	You could be arrested at random

In 1996, abuses of human rights during the apartheid years were addressed by the 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission', chaired by Bishop Desmond Tutu. To quicken the healing process, those found guilty were forgiven so long as they were prepared to admit their crimes.