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Elele nje usathetha: Ukukhapha as an expression of amaXhosa language world-sense

  • Authors: Dana, Zikho
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: Xhosa language Discourse analysis , Guides (Spiritualism) , Grief Religious aspects , Historical linguistics , Xhosa language Religious aspects , Xhosa (African people) Death , Death Religious aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406309 , vital:70257
  • Description: This study examines ukukhapha as an expression of amaXhosa language world-sense. Firstly, it examines how ukukhapha as a rite of passage to accompany the spirit of the deceased from the physical realm into the spiritual realm maintains the nexus between the living and the dead. Secondly, it explores ukukhapha as a ritual of collective mourning. Both dimensions of the study are pursued using language as a point of departure. This study draws on four key texts written across different times in history, namely: Intlalo kaXhosa (The Social Life of amaXhosa) by Tiyo Burnside (TB) Soga (1974); the three volume Greater Dictionary of isiXhosa (1989, 2003 and 2006); Nokuzola Mndende’s (2002) PhD thesis entitled: Signifying practices: AmaXhosa ritual speech; and Khaya Dlanga’s (2015) memoire: To Quote Myself. This thesis examines ukukhapha in the context of death to establish how amaXhosa speak about death and how this shapes their understanding and its practice. Discourse analysis is employed to clarify some practices and examples of ukukhapha. It’s also used to trace the evolution of ukukhapha over time in isiXhosa. It is utilized as a reservoir of knowledge epitomizing the world-sense of amaXhosa rather than solely as a means of communication. This study reveals that while ukukhapha as a ritual slaughtering of an ox to accompany the deceased is found in literature, its examination as a practice of communal and collective grief is scanty. The four key texts studied in this thesis reveal that ukukhapha goes beyond a mere ritual slaughtering of a sacrificial beast to accompany the spirit of the deceased to the ancestral realm. It is a practice that has allowed amaXhosa to collectively grief. Furthermore, it has provided the bereaved various forms of support which are pivotal in maintaining and strengthening kinship and communal ties among the living. This study further reveals that for the Africans in general, and for amaXhosa in particular, death is not the end of life. It is a continuation of life where the deceased morphs and graduates to an ancestor who joins a larger community of ancestors who act as intermediaries between the living and uMdali, the Creator. The findings demonstrate that through ukukhapha, there is no bifurcation between gender and age, rather they complement each other as the successful execution of the mourning period and farewell of a loved one is dependent on the roles played by both women and men respectively. , Olu phando luceba ukuphonononga ukukhapha njengendlela yokuphila equlathwe kulwimi lwamaXhosa. Okokuqala, luzakuphanda indlela ukukhapha njengesiko lokukhapha umphefumlo womfi ukusukela kwelenyama ukuya kwelemimoya kugcina ngayo ubudlelwane phakathi kwabaphilayo nabaleli ukuthula. Okwesibini, luzakuphanda ukukhapha njengesiko lokuzila ndawoni nye. Zombini ezi nkalo zizakuvelelwa ngokugxila kulwimi. Olu phando lucaphula kwimibhalo emine engundoqo kumaxesha ohlukileyo kwimbali, iquka: Intlalo kaXhosa owabhalwa nguTiyo Burnside Soga (ngowe1974); isichazi-magama esinemiqulu emithathu iThe Greater Dictionary of isiXhosa (ngowama-1989, owama-2003 nowama-2006); ithisisi yePhD kaNokuzola Mndende (ngowama-2002) ebizwa Signifying practices: amaXhosa ritual speech; nencwadi engunomalisa wobom, ebhalwe nguKhaya Dlanga (ngowama-2015) ebizwa To Quote Myself. Le thisisi isebenzisa ukukhapha kwilixa lokufa ukuphanda indlela amaXhosa athetha ngkufa, nokuba le ndlela yokuthetha iyichaphazela njani indlela abakuqonda ngayo ukufa nendlela abakhaphana ngayo. IDiscourse Analysis isetyenziswa njengesixhobo sokucacisa ukukhapha. Iphinde isetyenziswe ukunika imizekelo yeli siko nendlela yokuphila kwakunye nendlela ukukhapha kutshintshe ngayo ekuhambeni kwexesha kulwimi lwesiXhosa njengokuba sizakusetyenziswa njengovimba wolwazi, endaweni yokusetyenziswa njengesixhobo sonxibelelwano kuphela. Olu phando lubonisa ukuba njengokuba ukukhapha njengesiko lokuphalaza igazi lenkomo ukukhapha umfi kubhaliwe ngako kuncwadi, indlela abaphilayo enyameni abakhaphana ngayo iyasilela kuncwadi. Le mibhalo mine echongiweyo nephononongiweyo kolu phando ivelisa ukuba ukukhapha akuphelelanga ekuphalazeni igazi lenkomo kuphela njengesiko lokukhapha umfi ukuze awelele kweleminyanya, yindlela eyavumela amaXhosa ukuba azile ngemanyano apho uluntu luxhasa abafelweyo ngeendlela ezahlukeneyo ezithi zomeleze imanyano phakathi kwabazalanayo noluntu lwabaphilayo. Olu phando lutyhila into yokuba kumaAfrika jikelele, ingakumbi amaXhosa, ukufa ayikuko ukuphela kobom, nto nje luhambo olugqithisa umfi kubom obulandelayo apho ongeza kwinani kwelezinyanya apho izinyanya zilikhonco phakathi koMdali nabaphilayo. Iziphumo ngokukhapha zibonisa ukuba akukho ukuchasana phakathi kwesini neminyaka, nto nje, le miba mibini iyathungelana ekuncediseni nasekuqinisekiseni ukuba abafazi namadoda benza iindima zabo ngokufanelekileyo ekuqinisekiseni ukuba ixesha lezila nokubeka umfi kwikhaya lakhe lokugqibela ziyimpumelelo. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

M.M. Hala: Memoirs of an Umkhonto WeSizwe Cadre

  • Authors: Hala, Mzimasi Mike
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: African National Congress , Umkhonto we Sizwe (South Africa) , Anti-apartheid movements South Africa , Anti-apartheid activists South Africa , South Africa Politics and government 1948-1994 , Hani, Chris, 1942-1993 , Holomisa, Bantu, 1955- , Bisho massacre
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406785 , vital:70307
  • Description: Born in Komani (Queenstown) in 1959 and detained for Congress of South African Students (COSAS) activities while still at school, Mzimasi Mike Hala departed South Africa via Swaziland in 1981 and joined uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK). Trained in Angola, Cuba and East Germany, he commanded Cacuso camp in Angola, until redeployed to South Africa in 1987 to work underground in Venda and Cape Town. Following the unbanning of the liberation movements in 1990, he was appointed Commander of MK’s Transkei Region, where he was in charge of Chris Hani’s personal security. For reasons of space, the memoir does not proceed beyond his integration into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and second-in-command of SANDF Group 46 in Mthatha. Besides its value as a primary source of previously undocumented information, the thesis seeks to bridge the gap between the academic literature on MK and the lived experience of MK soldiers. Having considered both the academic literature and the published MK memoirs in Chapter One, the thesis refers back to the literature in narrative chapters Two to Five. Consolidating its findings in its conclusion, the final chapter is divided into three sections: the political culture of MK, MK gender dynamics and the consequences of the political merger of the “exiles,” including MK, and the “inziles” who subsequently came to dominate the ANC. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Joice Mujuru and the Zanu-PF Women’s League 1973-2014: opportunities and limits of maternal dignity (musha mukadzi) and self-preservation

  • Authors: Mataruse, Sisasenkosi
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Mujuru, Amai Joice T R (Amai Joice Teurai Ropa) , ZANU Women's League , Women and democracy Zimbabwe , Women Political activity Zimbabwe , Political leadership Zimbabwe , Sexism in political culture Zimbabwe , Patriarchy Zimbabwe , Women Zimbabwe Social conditions , ‎Maternal dignity (musha mukadzi)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/292748 , vital:57012
  • Description: The foundations of African feminisms are intertwined with the historical liberation of the African continent. Joice Mujuru’s five decades in Zimbabwean political parties are no different in showing the gendered nature of the fight against the intersectional oppressions of nation, race, class and gender. The research aimed to examine the political life of Joice Mujuru between 1973 and 2018 in various political roles and what this might mean for how women political leaders participate and make decisions as autonomous individuals within political parties in Zimbabwe. This study is a political biography of Joice Mujuru’s ideas and leadership in political parties in Zimbabwe since 1973, when she joined the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) as a guerilla of its military wing, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). Mujuru was the only woman in the first ZANU-PF cabinet in 1980. She served the Zimbabwean government in different cabinet positions and became the first female vice-president in 2004, until her ousting in 2014. This study is based on an interview with Mujuru, and nine interviews with one Member of Parliament, two independent political party candidates, three academics, two CSO activists, the leader of LEAD political party in Zimbabwe and personal communication with a celebrated Zimbabwean writer. The study uses the concept of “patriarchal bargain” (Kandiyoti, 1988; Makhunga, 2016) and “femocracy” (Mama, 1995b) to show that Mujuru’s participation in political parties has been shaped by compromising and negotiating a complex web of patriarchal constraints for acceptance and respect. This study shows that wifehood and motherhood, the idea of musha mukadzi (‘woman as home’), stands out as a defining factor for Mujuru in her identity formation as a political party leader and how she views the roles of other women in Zimbabwean political parties and politics. I term this political identity maternal dignity, which is a collective set of ideas of maternal respect determining women’s participation in political parties. The study shows that Mujuru uses dominant ideas of maternal dignity as a tool of self-presentation and self-preservation to survive as a political leader. Mujuru’s expulsion from ZANU-PF and her subsequent leadership in other political parties demonstrates the ways in which maternal dignity limits women from shaping alternative ideas of leadership outside of respectable womanhood. Through a political biography of Mujuru, the study reaches the conclusion that post-independence Zimbabwe offers limited space for women’s leadership, whether those women have liberation history credentials or not. The strategy of maternal dignity that Mujuru has used to navigate her political career is a “patriarchal bargain” with limited possibilities for women’s meaningful participation, and the transformation of political parties and governance in Zimbabwe. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Inkcitha nzila nobomi obutsha (The release of the widow and life after mourning): Xhosa widows and citizenship

  • Authors: Jimlongo, Gcotyelwa Nomxolisi
  • Date: 2021-10-29
  • Subjects: Widows South Africa Eastern Cape , Women, Black South Africa Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape , Widows Social conditions , Widowhood Psychological aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Economic aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Widowhood Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape , Mourning customs South Africa Eastern Cape , Feminist economics South Africa Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192220 , vital:45206
  • Description: This study examines the everyday conceptions and navigations of citizenship by Xhosa widows. It examines widows’ own understandings and experiences of citizenship once the official mourning period, known amongst amaXhosa as ukuzila, has ended. The study draws from 14 interviews with Xhosa widows from the Amalinda, Tsholomnqa, Mdantsane, Magcumeni, KwaNonkcampa, and Dimbaza areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This thesis contextualises claims to widowhood in the context of democratic South Africa, and the various ways in which widowed women conceptualise their lives after ukuzila. While ukuzila itself is written about in the literature, the contentious claims to widowhood and the ways in which women come to make sense of their lives in the post-mourning period remains largely unexplored. Interviews were conducted with women who had undertaken customary and/or civil marriages, had divorced or separated from their partners, or had cohabited. They reveal that widowhood is tenuous and as such, remains contested and contestable. The study demonstrates that much of the claims to widowhood are made because of the undeniable labour that women perform during the partnerships, where they are the primary economic providers. The study shows that whether in the formal and informal sector, women have been central in building the economic livelihoods of their families. In the post-mourning period, the theme of ukuhlala (to stay) that is articulated by widows, shows that they choose to remain in their marital homes to protect what they have laboured for. The findings demonstrate that the key to ‘good’ widowhood is intricately linked to ‘good’ motherhood. For Xhosa widows, much of their decision-making, and livelihood strategies, rests on how they craft good livelihoods for their families. These include a negotiation of feminist economies with woman-centred networks, a reliance on spirituality, as well as negotiations for dignity and respect within the homestead through the protection and maintenance of what they have built over the years. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-10-29

Umemulo and Zulu girlhood: From preservation to variations of ukuhlonipha nokufihla (respect and secrecy)

  • Authors: Mntambo, Londiwe Nompilo
  • Date: 2021-04
  • Subjects: Virginity , Zulu (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Zulu (African people) -- Social life and customs , Virginity -- Social aspects , Women, Zulu -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Social conditions , Women -- Social and moral questions
  • Language: English , Zulu
  • Type: thesis , text , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/178352 , vital:42932
  • Description: This study examines evolving definitions of ukuziphatha kahle that historically relied on the preservation of virginity for Zulu girls, who participate in the umemulo ceremony that marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood. It examines notions of Zulu girlhood as understood through preservation - ukugcina isibaya sikaBaba - and through respectability and secrecy - ukuhlonipha nokufihla. The study analyses how conceptions of ukuziphatha kahle (good behavior) have evolved in the context of sexual rights in the performance of Zulu girlhood. It is located in the interdisciplinary literature of global girlhood studies, and African feminist lenses of womanhood and rites of passages. The study draws from 26 interviews with Zulu women who have gone through umemulo, elder women who facilitate virginity testing and umemulo; and female relatives of women who have gone through umemulo in Estcourt, Wembezi, Paapkalius Fountain, Ntabamhlophe and Cornfields in KwaZulu-Natal. This thesis contextualises umemulo and ukuziphatha kahle (good behaviour) in democratic South Africa. Umemulo is a ritual done for a Zulu girl whose behaviour is deemed to be good. While this is clear, what constitutes ukuziphatha kahle (good behaviour) is contested. On stricter terms, ukuziphatha kahle means to be intombi nto (a virgin). The interviews with women who went through umemulo show that most of them were not virgins at the time of the ritual. The elder and younger women expressed that ukuziphatha kahle for them goes beyond the girl’s virginity. Instead, they understand it as a girl who does not have a child, and who has shown respect and obedience to her parents and elders. Strikingly, the study shows an inter-generational collusion between the younger and elder women, who maintain the outward appearance of virginity of the girls who participate in umemulo. The study argues that there are variations of ukuhlonipha (respect), which in the rights context of democratic South Africa overlap into ukufihla (secrecy). Importantly, it is clear that the concept of being a good Zulu womanhood holds and remains important for Zulu girls and women. However, the ways in which Zulu women experience and perform this is complex. The findings show that while many Zulu girls want to be seen as performing accepted good Zulu womanhood, they do so in ways that allow them to enjoy their sexual rights and pleasure. This is not a tension. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Politial and International Studies, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-04

Between drones and al-Shabaab: United States extra-judicial killings in Somalia, sovereignty and the future of liberal intervention

  • Authors: Koloko, Mojalefa
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Somalia -- Politics and government -- 1991- , Somalia -- History -- 1991- , Somalia -- Foreign relations -- United States , Somalia -- Foreign relations -- 1991- , Military assistance, American -- Somalia , Extrajudicial exeutions -- Somalia , Shabaab (Organization)
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67657 , vital:29125
  • Description: This study examines the nature of the United States intervention in Somalia, specifically the use of drone strikes that first targeted the militant Sunni Islamist transnational group, al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, and now target the Somali organisation, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab. The use of drone strikes in the US led war on terror has raised concerns about sovereignty as the extra-judicial killings are conducted without the consent of the concerned states. Furthermore, drone strikes also raise questions about the processes of liberal intervention as the US conducts them without the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It is argued in this study that what is understood to be the “golden era” of liberal interventionism is a legacy of the post-Cold War unipolar dominance of the United States in global governance and security. It is argued that US unipolarity was accompanied by a shifting perception regarding the security position of weak states, whose weakness becomes understood as a source of global insecurity. This perception that so called “weak” and “fragile” states are sources of threats is a departure in International Relations theory, because the discipline is historically preoccupied with studying the actions of powerful states and their consequence for the global order. It is argued that the discourse on the war on terror, and its focus on “failed states” as breeding grounds for alleged terrorists, represents the height of the repositioning of less powerful states from a peripheral status in IR analysis and practice, to their current position that are now being represented as core sources of threat to international peace and security. Through life history interviews with Somali nationals in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, South Africa, the study examines the consequences of US actions from the eyes of Somali people. The findings of this study show that despite all the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of the war on terror, the manner in which it is conducted, as well as the tactics that it employs, the majority of Somali participants showed an overwhelming support for the US intervention. Participants expressed support for the US extra-judicial killings because they are understood to undermine al-Shabaab strength which is a major source of insecurity. The study also shows that the lack of necessary collaboration between the US intelligence and the Somali ground forces has resulted in high numbers of civilian deaths, which participants fear can be used by al-Shabaab to recruit and radicalise more Somalis. The study also shows that most Somalis resent the presence of the African Union Mission in Somalia because Kenya and Ethiopia are seen as 10 pursuing national interests that are not invested in Somali peace and stability. The study concludes that US extra-judicial killings have failed to constrain the actions of al-Shabaab. Somalis expressed that the leadership of current president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo, holds the unique possibilities of creating national unity that rises above clan divisions and the radical Jihadist ideology of al-Shabaab.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Al-Shabaab and the sources of its resilience and resurgence: Cold War legacies and Jihadism in Somalia

  • Authors: Gardiner, Richard
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Shabaab (Organization) , Jihad , Cold War -- Influence , Cold War -- Social aspects -- Somalia , Somalia -- Foreign relations , Refugees, Somalian -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63833 , vital:28495
  • Description: This study examines the continued development and survival of the group, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab – which emerged in 2006 as the militant wing of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union and became an independent group in 2007. The group has survived in spite of the fact that it has endured significant losses of personnel, resources and territory in Somalia. The study examines al-Shabaab’s sources of resilience, resurgence and diversity. To achieve this, the study focused on the narratives of nine Somali nationals living and working in Durban, Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth, who fled their home country as a result of the ongoing violence and instability. Through understanding war as experience and placing the individual and community at the center of analysis, a people-centered approach is developed in understanding the organisation. This allows the study to challenge the state centered approaches to security and International Relations (IR) theory, which is important in the case of an armed, transnational, non-state actor such as al-Shabaab, whose operation and mobilisation requires no territorial base. The study makes use of social constructivism as a theoretical lens, as it provides an alternative way of analysing a non-state actor, specifically within an African context. The study argues that al-Shabaab's war within Somalia and East Africa is a territorial manifestation of a global phenomenon which highlights the importance of understanding its unique history within Somalia and East Africa. Importantly, the study also shows that veterans of the Afghan-Soviet war brought back ideas and tactics which have played a central part in shaping al-Shabaab's ideology and tactics. It is argued that al-Shabaab's process of decentralisation has ensured their survival but also alienated them from the Somali population. It is demonstrated that their insurgent tactics and process of intelligence gathering means that they operate in the shadows, making it difficult to locate them. Furthermore, the study shows that the role of regional actors and the presence of African Union peacekeepers have ensured that they have a constant enemy which provides a sense of cohesion and drive. The study concludes that al-Shabaab exists at a nexus of factors; its survival has and will depend on both domestic and transnational factors. Without the transnational nature of the organisation, al-Shabaab would not have become the organisation it is today. However, the future of al-Shabaab is heavily dependent on the security situation within Somalia. The immediate objectives of the group are focused within Somalia. Therefore, if the state institutions are consolidated within the country and human security levels improve, the organisation will struggle to operate with the same freedom it currently enjoys.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

Lizalise Idinga Lakho [Honour Thy Promise]: The Methodist Church Women’s Manyano, the Bifurcated Public Sphere, Divine Strength, Ubufazi and Motherhood in Post-Apartheid South Africa

  • Authors: Ngcobozi, Lihle
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17717 , vital:22271
  • Description: This study examines the socio-political role of the Christian church based women’s Manyano organisations in post-apartheid South Africa. Specifically, the study examines the ways in which the women’s Manyano organisations offer black women a site for the performance of citizenship. The study is based on life history interviews conducted with seventeen members of the Methodist Church Women’s Manyano of the Lamontville Circuit in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The study shows that dominant literature on Manyano women is primarily located in the historiography of the formation of Manyano groups within the historical development of the black church from the moment of missionary contact in South Africa. This literature shows that the missionaries used the coming together of black women in the church to promote ideas of devout domesticity that are based on Anglophone Victorian womanhood. This literature also shows that the structural constraints of colonisation and apartheid transformed the black church into a counterpublic space which focused largely on the liberation of the black majority from political, economic, and social exclusion from the colonial and apartheid public sphere. These constraints also transformed the role of women’s Manyano organisations to become an important space from which black women came to resist and defeat apartheid. This study shows that this historical framing of women’s Manyano groups has shaped their role in post-apartheid South Africa. Located in the African feminist theory, the study argues that Manyano women’s publicness is not limited to gendered expressions of the public and private sphere. Instead, Manyano women demonstrate that their publicness in post-apartheid South Africa ought to be understood through a combination of the varied identities that they straddle, such as those of a politically and culturally defined womanhood and communally based motherhood, which express their understanding and performance of citizenship. The thesis, therefore, argues that the contemporary role and functioning of Manyanos is located within both the hegemonic public sphere that is granted by the civil liberties of the new South Africa, and the historical black bifurcated counterpublic -which combined offer black women the ability to devise strategies to confront present-day socioeconomic challenges such as structural poverty that shapes the lives of the majority of black women in post-apartheid South Africa. The study contributes, therefore, to the reconstruction of the concept of the public sphere through the use of Manyano women’s dynamic position in post-apartheid South Africa. It shows that the dualist nature of Manyano women’s position and identity allows for a multifaceted approach in the understanding of citizenship for Manyano women today. Furthermore, and importantly, the study shows that the complex roles that Manyano women navigate within the different spheres complicate the interpretations of womanhood and motherhood as understood in dominant (white western) feminist theory in ways that often lead to the delegitimisation and erasure of Manyano women’s contributions to ideas about post-apartheid feminisms.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

New spaces and old stories: the Luminance woman, black womanhood and the illusion of the “new” South Africa

  • Authors: Alweendo, Ndapwa Magano Nelao
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Luminance stores (South Africa) , Dhlomo, Khanyi , Dlamini, Judy , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customes , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Social conditions , Clothing trade -- South Africa , Social classes -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/42619 , vital:25220
  • Description: This study examines ideas of black womanhood in post-apartheid South Africa. The opening of the Luminance boutique in 2013, previously owned by South African businesswoman and media mogul Khanyi Dhlomo in Johannesburg’s ultra-exclusive Hyde Park Corner, has been articulated as representing a rupture in the public and private performance of black womanhood. Luminance has positioned itself as a provider of world-class style and beauty and has embraced a narrative of black women’s empowerment in the process. The study is based on narrative semistructured interviews conducted Johannesburg with black women who have shopped at the boutique and women who believe themselves as having a meaningful connection to the store. The literature on black women, both internationally and in South Africa, acknowledges that black women experience multiple and intersecting oppressions of race, class and gender, among others. Located within black feminist theory, the study argues that the Luminance woman does represent some rupture in the historic understanding of black womanhood in South Africa. This woman is an elite player in both the corporate world and the world of luxury consumption, and is certainly entering spaces to which black women have historically been denied access. However, this study argues that there is a danger in reducing this woman to an oversimplified character, allowing responses to her to ignore the complexities of her reality in favour of the simplicity of her story, and ignore the structural socioeconomic challenges that continue to shape the lives of all black women in postapartheid South Africa. In this regard, the Luminance woman, while on the surface appearing to be an empowering new iteration of womanhood that should inspire other black woman, contributes to the erasure of her particular marginal experiences, and the oppression of black women in general. The story of the Luminance women contributes to a narrative of individual hard work and determination that frames her as a respectable example of what the “new” South Africa has delivered for its citizens. This woman is a model example of a South African who has succeeded because she took advantage of the opportunities supposedly afforded to all in the post-1994 era. It is therefore argued that praise of the Luminance woman serves a dual purpose: to reinforce the myth of equal opportunity in South Africa, and to lessen the legitimacy of marginalised groups’ experiences of oppression, especially black women who continue to constitute the poor majority.
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  • Date Issued: 2017
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