During the Second World War the Bechuanaland Protectorate government sought to increase food production for export. With so many Batswana men away in the army or in the South African mines this required an intensified use of women's labour. Women took on traditional male roles in addition to their own, but their control over their product was in fact eroded as compared to pre-war practice. Exports increased but the food supply within the Protectorate was diminished. However, it seems that women did not express much overt dissatisfaction, but instead took pride in coping with the strain and supporting their menfolk.
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