Joyce Sikhakhane-Rankin (1943-present) is a South African journalist who took a stand against the apartheid system. Though she was imprisoned for her resistance against the racist government, she helped pave the way for a democratic South Africa.
Joyce Sikhakhane-Rankin (1943-present) is a South African journalist who took a stand against the apartheid system. Though she was imprisoned for her resistance against the racist government, she helped pave the way for a democratic South Africa.
Women’s contributions to peacekeeping efforts are often overlooked, but no more. This month on Womanica we're highlighting women who have spearheaded peacekeeping initiatives all over the world — from India to South Africa to the United States. We cover women like Doria Shafik who led Egypt’s female liberation movement, as well as Coretta Scott King who was a fierce advocate for equality for Black Americans and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Tune in to hear the stories of women who were integral to creating peace in their communities.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Meltem Burak. I’m the host and producer of the podcast, Sesta. We aim to harness the power of arts and culture to foster conversation and build peace in Cyprus.
This month, we’re highlighting Peacebuilders: In times of conflict, these women have stepped in, bringing their creativity and insight to help facilitate peace across the globe.
Today, we’re talking about a South African journalist who took a stand against the apartheid system. She was imprisoned for her resistance against the racist government, but remained resilient. She is one of many activists who helped pave the way for a democratic South Africa.
Let’s meet Joyce Sikhakhane-Rankin.
Joyce was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1943. At the time, the country was governed under the apartheid system, which enshrined racial inequality between Black and white South Africans into law. The government banned interracial marriages and severely restricted where Black citizens could work, live and attend school. As a result, many Black South Africans lived in poverty.
Joyce’s family lived in Orlando West, a township in Soweto. From a young age, Joyce was surrounded by key figures of the anti-apartheid movement. Growing up, she and her siblings played with the children of Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, high-profile members of the anti-apartheid African National Congress, or ANC.
In the early 1950s, South Africa introduced the Bantu Education Act. This law transferred control of all South African schools to the state– including Black schools, which had mainly been run by missionaries until that point. In doing so, the Act stripped Black communities and provinces of the ability to control their education, and handed that power to the apartheid government. The act dictated that schools for Black children teach lessons in Afrikaans, the language of the country’s colonizers. It also made school compulsory, but didn’t provide free education for Black children, though many white children enjoyed that privilege. Joyce’s school boycotted the Act, and the Sisulus opened a school in their home, instead.
While she was still in school, Joyce’s parents separated, and she and her sister went to live with their paternal grandfather. He was a member of the ANC and regularly hosted local party meetings at his home. Under her grandfather’s roof, Joyce listened in on debates, and relayed messages to ANC comrades. She’d later say it was where her taste for underground activity started.
Once Joyce’s parents finalized their divorce, she moved back to her mother’s home to attend high school. Many students at her new school were involved with the Pan Africanist Congress, another anti-apartheid group, and Joyce continued her poltical development. She also fostered her talents as a writer and even won a national essay competition.
After graduating, Joyce started reporting for The World. She quickly grew frustrated with the paper’s leadership, which was heavily influenced by the conservative Christian movement and unwilling to challenge apartheid directly.
Joyce left The World and joined the Rand Daily Mail, becoming the first ever Black woman journalist at that paper. Her new publication was more progressive, and she had more freedom to write honestly about negative effects of apartheid.
While reporting on the forced removals of African people from their ancestral homes, Joyce witnessed a Black woman giving birth in an open field without proper medical attention. This sight deeply disturbed her and motivated her to help displaced people in her home country. She helped organize the Justice and Peace Commission, a network of priests against apartheid that organized medical care for Africans in need.
Through this work, she met Ken Rankin, a Scottish surgeon, who she would eventually marry. They dated in secret– remember, their relationship was illegal in South Africa because Ken was white and Joyce was Black.
The couple made a plan to marry abroad. Ken left South Africa to await Joyce– but she never showed up.
On May 12, 1969, police officers appeared at Joyce’s door. They arrested her under the Terrorism Act, an apartheid-era act that enabled police to arrest just about anyone who resisted state control. She was dragged from her home, forced to leave behind her young son. She was detained alongside other Black female activists, including Winnie Mandela, wife of Nelson Mandela.
Joyce’s many months in prison were marked by psychological abuse and isolation. She would later testify at a hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the cruel interrogation tactics used against her, including officials bringing in a small child to remind her of the son she had been forced to leave behind. She said, “I refused to be chiselled into an instrument of apartheid's evils, intelligence and security design. True, I was longing to be with my son, just to cuddle him, but the price to pay for that was worth our cruel separation.”
Joyce was tried alongside 21 other anti-apartheid Black prisoners. Their legal battle was nationally reported and helped stir up anger against apartheid. In 1970, Joyce and her fellow activists were finally released from prison. The ANC advised her that she would be in danger as long as she remained in South Africa. Joyce decided it was time to go into exile. In July of 1973, she traveled in secret and eventually reunited with Ken. After years apart, they finally married.
Throughout her exile, Joyce remained an active member of the ANC.
In 1977, she published her book “A Window on Soweto.” The work details her personal experiences with racial inequality and poverty as well the many systemic ways in which Black citizens were oppressed by the government, from employment to public transportation to housing and childcare. Joyce closed the book by writing: “There will be no progress until the whole apartheid system is removed.”
In the early 1990s, Joyce and Ken returned to South Africa. By this time, years of uprisings, protest, and economic sanctions from the United States and European countries had weakened the apartheid government that had arrested Joyce.
In 1994, South Africa formed a democratic government. Nelson Mandela became the country’s first president. After her return to the country, Joyce worked for the National Intelligence Agency and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Joyce’s coverage of racial inequity and underground work for the ANC helped bring about real and lasting change for South Africa. As people across the globe still struggle against oppressive regimes, women like Joyce remind us that as long as there is still resistance, there is hope.
All month, we’re talking about peacebuilders. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan, for having me as a guest host.
Talk to you tomorrow!