Soweto Soweto Simplified molecular input line entry specification Category="Gauteng Province"Category="Johannesburg"[image]

Soweto is an urban area in Johannesburg, in Gauteng Province South Africa whose northern boundary begins about 15km south-west of central Johannesburg. The name Soweto is a contraction of "South Western Townships" and does not mean anything besides this in any South African language.

History

In 1950, during the apartheid regime, Soweto was constructed as a self-sufficent housing project. African people until then had been living in government designated areas for white settlement (such as the multi-racial area called Sophiatown). It began as a grouping of the farms Doornkop, Klipriviersoog, Diepkloof, Klipspruit and Vogelstruisfontein.

[image] Soweto came to the world's attention in 1976 with the Soweto Riots, when mass rioting broke out over the government's decision to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than English. See History of South Africa.

A series of bombs rocked Soweto in October 2002. The explosions, believed to be the work of the Boeremag, a right wing extremist group, damaged buildings and railway lines, and killed one person.

Demographics

Today's Soweto remains an overwhelmingly black-dominated city with over three million people.

Suburbs

The suburbs of Greater Soweto also consists of 29 former townships: Chiawelo, Dhlamini, Diepmeadow, Gauteng (Diepkloof, Meadowlands and Medowlands West), Dobsonville including Dobsonville Gardens, Doornkop, Dube, Emdeni, Jabulani, Jabavu, Klipspruit, Mapetla, Mmensi Park, Mofolo (Mofolo Central, Mofolo North, Mofolo South), Molapo, Moletsane, Moroka, Naledi, Noordgesig, Orlando (Orlando East, Orlando West), Pimville, Power Park, Protea Glen, Protea North, Protea South, Senaoane, Tladi, Zola and Zondi

Economy

Today, Soweto is among the poorest parts of Johannesburg. However, there have been signs recently indicating economic improvement. Soweto has also become a center for nightlife.

Miscellaneous

Soweto was the birthplace of:

Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952), lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman
Tokyo Sexwale (born 1953), businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner
Jomo Sono (born 1955), a South African soccer club owner and coach and also a former star soccer player
Doctor Khumalo (born 1967), soccer player
Lucas Radebe (born 1969), former soccer player and national team captain
Mandoza (born 1978), Kwaito musician
Bonginkosi Dlamini, aka. Zola, poet, actor, and musician

Current and past residents include:

Lilian Ngoyi (1911-1980), anti-apartheid activist
Nelson Mandela (born 1918) spent many years living in Soweto. His Soweto home in Orlando is currently a major tourist attraction
Desmond Tutu (born 1931), cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s, through his opposition to apartheid
Gibson Kente (1932-2004), Playwright
Aggrey Klaaste (1940-2004), Newspaper Journalist and Editor
Hector Pieterson (1964-1976) student who died during the 1976 uprising in Soweto. A picture where the dying Hector is carried away by a man became a famous press photo. Today a memorial named after him in Orlando East reminds of the 1976 Student Uprising.

External link