Pass laws

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Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and were one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. Introduced by the British governors in South Africa in 1923, they were designed to regulate movement of black Africans into urban areas. Outside of designated "homelands", black South Africans had to carry pass books ("dompas") at all times.

These discriminatory regulations sparked outrage from the black population and the ANC began the Defiance Campaign to oppose the pass laws.

This conflict climaxed at the Sharpeville Massacre where the black opposition was violently put down, with 69 people killed, and over 180 injured.

The system of pass laws was repealed in South Africa in 1986. The system was also repeated in South Africa in 1994.

Pass laws also stated that black Africans could not hold a higher business position within a company than the lowest white employee.

The Native Urban Areas Act 1923 deemed urban areas in South Africa as "white" and forced all black African men in cities and towns to carry permits called "passes" at all times. Anyone found without a pass would be arrested immediately and sent to a rural area.

The Pass Laws Act 1952 made it compulsory for all black South Africans over the age of 15 to carry a "pass book" at all times. The law stipulated where, when, and for how long a person could remain. This pass was also known as a dompas.

The document was similar to a passport, containing details on the bearer such as their fingerprints, photograph, the name of his/her employer, his/her address, how long the bearer had been employed, as well as other identification information. Employers often entered a behavioural evaluation, on the conduct of the pass holder.

An employer was defined under the law and could be only a white person. The pass also documented permission requested and denied or granted to be in a certain region and the reason for seeking such permission. Under the terms of the law any governmental employee could strike out such entries, basically canceling the permission to remain in the area.

A pass book without a valid entry then allowed officials to arrest and imprison the bearer of the pass. These passes became the most despised symbols of apartheid. The resistance to the Pass Law led to many thousands of arrests and was the spark that ignited the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960, and led to the arrest of Robert Sobukwe on that same date.

[edit] Outside South Africa

Similar laws in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) required adult black males to carry a 'registration card' also referred to as "situpa" [1]. Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) also passed laws making it compulsory for black citizens to carry an 'identification certificate' often referred to as "chitupa" [2].