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Angola Role of Women and Children
Almost no research existed on the role of women and
children in
Angolan society in the late 1980s, but a few generalities
could be
drawn. In rural Angola, as in many African economies, most
of the
population engaged in agricultural activities. Women
performed much
of the agricultural labor, as did children of both sexes.
Marriage
generally involved family, political, and economic
interests as
well as personal considerations. The household was the
most
important unit of production and was usually composed of
several
generations. The women grew and prepared most of the food
for the
household and performed all other domestic work. Because
of their
major role in food production, women shared relatively
equal status
with men, who spent much of their time hunting or tending
cattle.
Many women and children belonged to two mass
organizations: the
Organization of Angolan Women (Organização da Mulher
Angolana--OMA)
and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of
Angola-Youth
Movement (Juventude do Movimento Popular de Libertação de
Angola --
JMPLA). Before independence, the OMA and JMPLA were
instrumental in
mobilizing political support for the MPLA among thousands
of
Angolan refugees. After independence, and especially after
the
creation of the MPLA-PT in 1977, the mass organizations
came under
the strict control of the party and were given the role of
intermediaries between the MPLA-PT and the population.
In 1987 the OMA had a membership of 1.3 million women,
most of
whom lived in rural areas. Among the many contributions of
OMA's
members were the establishment of literacy programs and
service in
health and social service organizations
(see Mass Organizations and Interest Groups
, ch. 4). Most OMA members, however, were
poor and
unemployed. In 1988 only 10 percent of MPLA-PT members
were women,
although more women were finding jobs in teaching and
professions
from which they had been excluded in the past.
The JMPLA, which claimed a membership of 72,000
teenagers and
students in 1988, became the only route to party
membership after
1977. JMPLA members were required to participate in the
Directorate
of People's Defense and Territorial Troops, formerly the
People's
Defense Organization (Organização de Defesa Popular--ODP),
and
political study groups. The relatively small size of the
organization, however, was indicative of the difficulty
the
government faced in recruiting young people from rural
areas.
Data as of February 1989
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