'n Historiese perspektief op die kapelaansvrou in die Suid-Afrikaanse militêre milieu.
Abstract
This article forms part of a larger project on the history of South African
military chaplaincy. It provides a review of the role played by the spouses of
Permanent Force chaplains in the military context of South Africa. Gender
provides one of the most prominent structures of human society and,
throughout history, most cultures displayed a patriarchal system in which
women took a subordinate position to their male counterparts. Until late in
the twentieth century, women in Western culture were mostly responsible
for domestic chores, while their husbands served as breadwinners, thereby
dominating the economic and political public spheres. Despite the traditional
determination of gender roles, women often serve as major variation agents
in the narrative of history. The contributions of ordinary women are usually
the most extensive and the least acknowledged and, both as individuals and
as spouses, they contribute on a daily basis to the wellbeing of societies. In
line with the female role paradigm of the late-twentieth century in Western
culture, the spouses of South African military chaplains served as a source
of support for the spiritual ministry to the armed forces and worked for the
wellbeing of the the military society at large. Exploring the role of the spouses
of military chaplains in the South African armed forces provides a different
perspective on the military context, which is usually defined in masculine
terms, and it also contributes to the documentation of the history of South
African women. A historical understanding of all the dimensions of military
chaplaincy in South Africa will be incomplete without an overview of the
contributions of the spouses of chaplains.