South Africa gaining independence from Britain in 1910 did not lead to freedom and equality primarily due to the deeply entrenched system of racial segregation and discrimination known as apartheid. The apartheid regime, which was established in 1948, created a legal framework that institutionalized racial inequality, leading to the marginalization and oppression of the non-white population. It took several more decades of activism and resistance before South Africa could achieve freedom and equality through the dismantling of apartheid in the early 1990s.
