What do we learn about Thami in Act 1?

In the first scene, it is clear that Thami believes in equality of all races in South Africa, but his position on women is not clear. After the first scene, where Thami and Isabel debate about women's rights, the reader or audience is left to wonder how good Thami is at playing devil's advocate and using rhetoric designed to win, and how much he may actually believe in what he says about women needing to stay in their traditional roles.