Dr Fikile Vilakazi | University of KwaZulu-Natal (original) (raw)
Papers by Dr Fikile Vilakazi
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
This is an electronic reprint of the original article. This reprint may differ from the original ... more This is an electronic reprint of the original article. This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail.
Grandmothers and Grandmothering, 2021
This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It... more This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It exposes the reader to the life, experience and practices of regulating traditional healing in South Africa. It will get you thinking about the pros and cons of regulating ancient practices, spirituality, belief and related paradoxes. It also engages the reader with issues of power, trust and reciprocity which in my view constitute critical attributes of every community. I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it and engaging critically with its content.
Post-apartheid South Africa remains a highly stratified society on variable grounds including rac... more Post-apartheid South Africa remains a highly stratified society on variable grounds including race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation and religion inter alia. Socio-economic inequalities are embedded in different areas including the economy, education, medicine, food and many other consumer related experiences that Lucy [28] best defines as a ‘culture of consumption’ which includes experiences such as the availability of a range of types of goods for sale, the marketization of basic human life experiences like health, housing, education, water, land and food. This paper discusses a ‘culture of consumption’ with specific reference to the marketization and sales of traditional medicines and the embeddedness of stratification and inequalities surrounding such a consumption culture in South Africa. Consumption of traditional medicine is one of the most visible experiences in South Africa. It is practiced by people of all races, genders, cultures and ages. The focus is on so...
A mini-thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
Agenda
Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normat... more Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normative’ belief that human beings fall into two distinct binaries of sex and gender: male/man and female/woman. This ideology produces the idea that those sexes/genders exist to fulfil reproductive roles and hence that all intimate relationships ought to exist only between males/men and females/women. Heteronormative institutions block access to legal, political, economic, educational, and social participation for individuals who do not fit in these binary sex/gender categories. The authors’ claim in this Focus piece is that a heteronormative imperative is faulty. The normative of sex and gender functions as a regulatory practice whose power is to produce, demarcate and control bodies to consolidate a heterosexual imperative. In order to realise the meaning of nonheteronormativity, hegemonic heteronormativity has to be confronted through a postcolonial queer feminist lens because it is through a hetero-colonial imperative that some citizens in Africa continue to be violated with impunity on the grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The boundaries of analysis otherwise limit a discursively conditioned experience within the terms of a hegemonic, cultural, colonial and heteronormative discourse. The binary structures on which this is predicated appear as the language of universal rationality whereby nonconformity is perceived as irrational and punished. Postcolonial African queer feminism suggests that we evoke for ourselves a sense of double consciousness or multiple consciousnesses, where we notice how we constantly see ourselves through the eyes of the other (former colonisers in the context of this paper), with multiple identities in one body e.g. a colonial LGBTIQ subject versus an African LGBTIQ subject, among others. It is recommended that through “coloniality of power” LGBTIQ activists and allies identify and describe the living legacy of colonialism in contemporary Africa in the form of social discrimination that has outlived formal colonialism and become integrated in succeeding social orders, as it has in many of our laws. The coloniality of power as a practice assists to identify and expose the racial, political, sexual, gendered and social hierarchical orders imposed by European colonialism that prescribed value to certain peoples/societies while disenfranchising others.
Studies on Ethno-Medicine
Ensuring active participation can have a positive impact on the regulation of African Traditional... more Ensuring active participation can have a positive impact on the regulation of African Traditional Medicines (ATMs). This research assessed the level of participation and the role of trust and reciprocity amongst African Traditional Health Practitioners (ATHPs) in the regulation of ATMs in South Africa. A quantitative research methodology was employed. The research found that trust in government's regulation was high (60%) amongst ATHPs and this negatively correlated with low levels (72%) of willingness to participate in the regulation of ATMs. A classical regression model where: Y = a+ bK + cX+ dL + µ, where a is the intercept of the model; b, c, and d represent regression coefficients; and µ is the random error term, revealed that reciprocity (P>|t| 0.00) and trust (P>|t| 0.01) play a statistically significant role to influence participation. The creation of participation units is recommended to increase active involvement in the regulation of ATMs.
Contextualisation of study 1 1.2. Rationale and Significance of the Study 3 I would like to thank... more Contextualisation of study 1 1.2. Rationale and Significance of the Study 3 I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Mulugeta Fitamo Dinbabo for his diligent support, wisdom, passion, commitment and for believing in my thoughts, ideas and actions throughout the writing of this mini-thesis. I will not have made it without your support. Thank you very much. This work would not have been possible without the advice of Dr Razack Karriem who provided an ear to listen, a thought to consider and cautions to be mindful of along the way. Thank you Dr Karriem. Professor Julian May, thank you for listening, hearing and acting to make this thesis possible. To Mrs. Priscilla Kippie, my sincere gratitude for your administrative support and willingness to support when requested to do so. You have really made a difference in the life of this thesis. The Division for Postgraduate Studies for your PET support program. Thank you
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
![Research paper thumbnail of Will the Majority of Poor and Unemployed Citizens of South Africa Benefit From Vision 2030? A Closer Look at the National Development Plan [NDP]-Vision 2030](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/63780502/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Journal of International Politics and Development (JIPAD), 2015
The national development plan of South Africa known as Vision 2030 has prioritised infrastructure... more The national development plan of South Africa known as
Vision 2030 has prioritised infrastructure investment as one
of its strategies for economic growth for the next 16 years.
The plan intends to create 11 million jobs by 2030.The
benefits of infrastructure investment have been proven in
various parts of the globe to play a key role in improving the
quality of life for the poor. However, public corruption and
state capitalism pose as a huge threat to Vision 2030. In
paper, the plan is a grand initiative although following in the
footsteps of the Growth Economic and Redistribution
strategy [GEAR] and the Accelerated Shared Growth
Initiative of South Africa [ASGISA]taking a capitalist
economic approach to economic growth and poverty
eradication with very little hope for reviving the commitments
of the Reconstruction and Development Program of the first
democratic government. Acompelling argument in this paper
is to show how the Harrod-Domar economic model of the 50s
still troubles economic development plans of developing
countries even today, with specific reference to South Africa.
Medicina Interna: Open Access (MI), 2018
Abstract Introduction: Post-apartheid South Africa remains highly stratified on variable grounds ... more Abstract
Introduction: Post-apartheid South Africa remains highly stratified on variable grounds including race. The 8.9 percent (whites) of the total population has an
average income per capita that is five times higher than that of 79.2 percent (blacks). Socio-economic inequalities are embedded in a ‘culture of consumption’
which includes the availability of goods for sale and the marketization of basic human life experiences including health.
Study Objective: The objective of this review was to ascertain the racial status quo in traditional medicines consumption.
Results: Literature shows that the consumption of traditional medicines is saturated within the Black population at 72 percent whilst data on other race groups
is scarce. Evidence points to a racialized economy that existed for more than 100 years (1910 – 2010) with the Black population perpetually positioned at the
bottom of the hierarchy.
Conclusion: Further empirical data is recommended to determine whether traditional medicine’s consumption in South Africa is symbolically contaminated by
colonial and apartheid legacies.
The ‘normative’ of sex and gender differentiates the bodies it controls to consolidate a heterosexual imperative: A cause of homophobic sexual violence in Africa, 2020
Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normat... more Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normative’ belief that
human beings fall into two distinct binaries of sex and gender: male/man and female/woman. This ideology
produces the idea that those sexes/genders exist to fulfil reproductive roles and hence that all intimate
relationships ought to exist only between males/men and females/women. Heteronormative institutions block
access to legal, political, economic, educational, and social participation for individuals who do not fit in these
binary sex/gender categories. The authors’ claim in this Focus piece is that a heteronormative imperative is
faulty. The normative of sex and gender functions as a regulatory practice whose power is to produce,
demarcate and control bodies to consolidate a heterosexual imperative. In order to realise the meaning of nonheteronormativity, hegemonic heteronormativity has to be confronted through a postcolonial queer feminist
lens because it is through a hetero-colonial imperative that some citizens in Africa continue to be violated with
impunity on the grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The boundaries of analysis
otherwise limit a discursively conditioned experience within the terms of a hegemonic, cultural, colonial and
heteronormative discourse. The binary structures on which this is predicated appear as the language of
universal rationality whereby nonconformity is perceived as irrational and punished. Postcolonial African queer
feminism suggests that we evoke for ourselves a sense of double consciousness or multiple consciousnesses,
where we notice how we constantly see ourselves through the eyes of the other (former colonisers in the
context of this paper), with multiple identities in one body e.g. a colonial LGBTIQ subject versus an African
LGBTIQ subject, among others. It is recommended that through “coloniality of power” LGBTIQ activists and
allies identify and describe the living legacy of colonialism in contemporary Africa in the form of social
discrimination that has outlived formal colonialism and become integrated in succeeding social orders, as it
has in many of our laws. The coloniality of power as a practice assists to identify and expose the racial,
political, sexual, gendered and social hierarchical orders imposed by European colonialism that prescribed
value to certain peoples/societies while disenfranchising others.
This article will focus on the conditions experienced by young women and men in rural communities... more This article will focus on the conditions experienced by young women and men in rural communities, and how these conditions impact on their livelihoods and decision-making
processes. Specifically, it will look at how young people facing the circumstances described above become involved in sex work as an option. In a survey conducted with young sex workers, it emerged that around 80% of young sex workers were female and 20% male (in the year 2003). It was also noted that figures for involvement in the industry have been growing since 2001.
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
This is an electronic reprint of the original article. This reprint may differ from the original ... more This is an electronic reprint of the original article. This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail.
Grandmothers and Grandmothering, 2021
This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It... more This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It exposes the reader to the life, experience and practices of regulating traditional healing in South Africa. It will get you thinking about the pros and cons of regulating ancient practices, spirituality, belief and related paradoxes. It also engages the reader with issues of power, trust and reciprocity which in my view constitute critical attributes of every community. I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it and engaging critically with its content.
Post-apartheid South Africa remains a highly stratified society on variable grounds including rac... more Post-apartheid South Africa remains a highly stratified society on variable grounds including race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation and religion inter alia. Socio-economic inequalities are embedded in different areas including the economy, education, medicine, food and many other consumer related experiences that Lucy [28] best defines as a ‘culture of consumption’ which includes experiences such as the availability of a range of types of goods for sale, the marketization of basic human life experiences like health, housing, education, water, land and food. This paper discusses a ‘culture of consumption’ with specific reference to the marketization and sales of traditional medicines and the embeddedness of stratification and inequalities surrounding such a consumption culture in South Africa. Consumption of traditional medicine is one of the most visible experiences in South Africa. It is practiced by people of all races, genders, cultures and ages. The focus is on so...
A mini-thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
Agenda
Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normat... more Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normative’ belief that human beings fall into two distinct binaries of sex and gender: male/man and female/woman. This ideology produces the idea that those sexes/genders exist to fulfil reproductive roles and hence that all intimate relationships ought to exist only between males/men and females/women. Heteronormative institutions block access to legal, political, economic, educational, and social participation for individuals who do not fit in these binary sex/gender categories. The authors’ claim in this Focus piece is that a heteronormative imperative is faulty. The normative of sex and gender functions as a regulatory practice whose power is to produce, demarcate and control bodies to consolidate a heterosexual imperative. In order to realise the meaning of nonheteronormativity, hegemonic heteronormativity has to be confronted through a postcolonial queer feminist lens because it is through a hetero-colonial imperative that some citizens in Africa continue to be violated with impunity on the grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The boundaries of analysis otherwise limit a discursively conditioned experience within the terms of a hegemonic, cultural, colonial and heteronormative discourse. The binary structures on which this is predicated appear as the language of universal rationality whereby nonconformity is perceived as irrational and punished. Postcolonial African queer feminism suggests that we evoke for ourselves a sense of double consciousness or multiple consciousnesses, where we notice how we constantly see ourselves through the eyes of the other (former colonisers in the context of this paper), with multiple identities in one body e.g. a colonial LGBTIQ subject versus an African LGBTIQ subject, among others. It is recommended that through “coloniality of power” LGBTIQ activists and allies identify and describe the living legacy of colonialism in contemporary Africa in the form of social discrimination that has outlived formal colonialism and become integrated in succeeding social orders, as it has in many of our laws. The coloniality of power as a practice assists to identify and expose the racial, political, sexual, gendered and social hierarchical orders imposed by European colonialism that prescribed value to certain peoples/societies while disenfranchising others.
Studies on Ethno-Medicine
Ensuring active participation can have a positive impact on the regulation of African Traditional... more Ensuring active participation can have a positive impact on the regulation of African Traditional Medicines (ATMs). This research assessed the level of participation and the role of trust and reciprocity amongst African Traditional Health Practitioners (ATHPs) in the regulation of ATMs in South Africa. A quantitative research methodology was employed. The research found that trust in government's regulation was high (60%) amongst ATHPs and this negatively correlated with low levels (72%) of willingness to participate in the regulation of ATMs. A classical regression model where: Y = a+ bK + cX+ dL + µ, where a is the intercept of the model; b, c, and d represent regression coefficients; and µ is the random error term, revealed that reciprocity (P>|t| 0.00) and trust (P>|t| 0.01) play a statistically significant role to influence participation. The creation of participation units is recommended to increase active involvement in the regulation of ATMs.
Contextualisation of study 1 1.2. Rationale and Significance of the Study 3 I would like to thank... more Contextualisation of study 1 1.2. Rationale and Significance of the Study 3 I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Mulugeta Fitamo Dinbabo for his diligent support, wisdom, passion, commitment and for believing in my thoughts, ideas and actions throughout the writing of this mini-thesis. I will not have made it without your support. Thank you very much. This work would not have been possible without the advice of Dr Razack Karriem who provided an ear to listen, a thought to consider and cautions to be mindful of along the way. Thank you Dr Karriem. Professor Julian May, thank you for listening, hearing and acting to make this thesis possible. To Mrs. Priscilla Kippie, my sincere gratitude for your administrative support and willingness to support when requested to do so. You have really made a difference in the life of this thesis. The Division for Postgraduate Studies for your PET support program. Thank you
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of wome...
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
Image & Text, 2021
The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and ha... more The South African Constitution has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world and has received high acclaim internationally (Mkhwanazi 2016:6). However, the war on women, their bodies and their right to self-determination persists, irrespective of the Constitution. Literature reveals experiences of brutal rapes and killings of black lesbian women, as well as mistreatment and hate speech in the name of morality against sex workers, women seeking abortions and HIV-positive women (Strode et al. 2012:64). Based on a desktop review of images and audio-visuals of women's narratives in South Africa, this paper finds that many of the country's contemporary social institutions, such as the state, family, church and culture, amongst others, normalise forms of gendered violence, such as the policing, control and exploitation of women's lives and bodies through cultural practices like ukuthwala and ukuhlolwa kwobuntombi. Research findings also include narratives of women, who-in spite of prevailing social and institutionalised violence-have leveraged personal agency to declare autonomy and make personal choices regarding their bodies and lives.
Journal of International Politics and Development (JIPAD), 2015
The national development plan of South Africa known as Vision 2030 has prioritised infrastructure... more The national development plan of South Africa known as
Vision 2030 has prioritised infrastructure investment as one
of its strategies for economic growth for the next 16 years.
The plan intends to create 11 million jobs by 2030.The
benefits of infrastructure investment have been proven in
various parts of the globe to play a key role in improving the
quality of life for the poor. However, public corruption and
state capitalism pose as a huge threat to Vision 2030. In
paper, the plan is a grand initiative although following in the
footsteps of the Growth Economic and Redistribution
strategy [GEAR] and the Accelerated Shared Growth
Initiative of South Africa [ASGISA]taking a capitalist
economic approach to economic growth and poverty
eradication with very little hope for reviving the commitments
of the Reconstruction and Development Program of the first
democratic government. Acompelling argument in this paper
is to show how the Harrod-Domar economic model of the 50s
still troubles economic development plans of developing
countries even today, with specific reference to South Africa.
Medicina Interna: Open Access (MI), 2018
Abstract Introduction: Post-apartheid South Africa remains highly stratified on variable grounds ... more Abstract
Introduction: Post-apartheid South Africa remains highly stratified on variable grounds including race. The 8.9 percent (whites) of the total population has an
average income per capita that is five times higher than that of 79.2 percent (blacks). Socio-economic inequalities are embedded in a ‘culture of consumption’
which includes the availability of goods for sale and the marketization of basic human life experiences including health.
Study Objective: The objective of this review was to ascertain the racial status quo in traditional medicines consumption.
Results: Literature shows that the consumption of traditional medicines is saturated within the Black population at 72 percent whilst data on other race groups
is scarce. Evidence points to a racialized economy that existed for more than 100 years (1910 – 2010) with the Black population perpetually positioned at the
bottom of the hierarchy.
Conclusion: Further empirical data is recommended to determine whether traditional medicine’s consumption in South Africa is symbolically contaminated by
colonial and apartheid legacies.
The ‘normative’ of sex and gender differentiates the bodies it controls to consolidate a heterosexual imperative: A cause of homophobic sexual violence in Africa, 2020
Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normat... more Heteronormativity is the way in which social institutions reinforce a socially contracted ‘normative’ belief that
human beings fall into two distinct binaries of sex and gender: male/man and female/woman. This ideology
produces the idea that those sexes/genders exist to fulfil reproductive roles and hence that all intimate
relationships ought to exist only between males/men and females/women. Heteronormative institutions block
access to legal, political, economic, educational, and social participation for individuals who do not fit in these
binary sex/gender categories. The authors’ claim in this Focus piece is that a heteronormative imperative is
faulty. The normative of sex and gender functions as a regulatory practice whose power is to produce,
demarcate and control bodies to consolidate a heterosexual imperative. In order to realise the meaning of nonheteronormativity, hegemonic heteronormativity has to be confronted through a postcolonial queer feminist
lens because it is through a hetero-colonial imperative that some citizens in Africa continue to be violated with
impunity on the grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The boundaries of analysis
otherwise limit a discursively conditioned experience within the terms of a hegemonic, cultural, colonial and
heteronormative discourse. The binary structures on which this is predicated appear as the language of
universal rationality whereby nonconformity is perceived as irrational and punished. Postcolonial African queer
feminism suggests that we evoke for ourselves a sense of double consciousness or multiple consciousnesses,
where we notice how we constantly see ourselves through the eyes of the other (former colonisers in the
context of this paper), with multiple identities in one body e.g. a colonial LGBTIQ subject versus an African
LGBTIQ subject, among others. It is recommended that through “coloniality of power” LGBTIQ activists and
allies identify and describe the living legacy of colonialism in contemporary Africa in the form of social
discrimination that has outlived formal colonialism and become integrated in succeeding social orders, as it
has in many of our laws. The coloniality of power as a practice assists to identify and expose the racial,
political, sexual, gendered and social hierarchical orders imposed by European colonialism that prescribed
value to certain peoples/societies while disenfranchising others.
This article will focus on the conditions experienced by young women and men in rural communities... more This article will focus on the conditions experienced by young women and men in rural communities, and how these conditions impact on their livelihoods and decision-making
processes. Specifically, it will look at how young people facing the circumstances described above become involved in sex work as an option. In a survey conducted with young sex workers, it emerged that around 80% of young sex workers were female and 20% male (in the year 2003). It was also noted that figures for involvement in the industry have been growing since 2001.
Lambert Academic Publishing, 2018
This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It... more This book is one of the few volumes written on traditional healing regulation in South Africa. It exposes the reader to the life, experience and practices of regulating traditional healing in South Africa. It will get you thinking about the pros and cons of regulating ancient practices, spirituality, belief and related paradoxes. It also engages the reader with issues of power, trust and reciprocity which in my view constitute critical attributes of every community. I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it and engaging critically with its content.