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(in the republic of south africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.
contemporary examples

james zug is the author of the guardian, a history of south africa’s anti-apartheid newspaper.
nelson mandela’s revelatory diaries james zug october 15, 2010

in march, there will be anti-apartheid activities at many colleges.
the false apartheid narrative robert cherry february 27, 2013

when working together, people experience what nelson mandela, the anti-apartheid hero, called “the multiplication of courage.”
mark hertsgaard -n-lyzes the psychology of climate-change activism mark hertsgaard july 13, 2013

but he also delighted the crowd with his close knowledge of the anti-apartheid movement.
obama says goodbye to mandela nico hines december 9, 2013

for a young journalist in south africa nelson mandela as a young anc leader was a major source on the anti-apartheid struggle.
mandela, my source: one journalist’s memory of clandestine meetings benjamin pogrund december 5, 2013

the more violent aspect of the anti-apartheid movement was, safe to say, largely lost on occidental college protestors.
how obama’s shallow worldview failed us stuart stevens august 28, 2014

adjective
opposed to apartheid: the anti-apartheid movement
noun
(in south africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992
n.

1947 (policy begun 1948), from afrikaans apartheid (1929 in a south african socio-political context), literally “separateness,” from dutch apart “separate” (from french àpart; see apart) + suffix -heid, cognate of english -hood. the official english synonym was separate development (1955).

“segregation” is such an active word that it suggests someone is trying to segregate someone else. so the word “apartheid” was introduced. now it has such a stench in the nostrils of the world, they are referring to “autogenous development.” [alan paton, “new york times,” oct. 24, 1960]

apartheid [(uh-pahr-teyet, uh-pahr-tayt)]

the racist policy (see racism) of south africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. it was dismantled during the 1990s. (see nelson mandela.)