Department of African Literature Masters Research Report
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DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN LITERATURE MASTERS RESEARCH REPORT Name: Simamkele Dlakavu Student Number: 475844 Asijiki: Black Women in the Economic Freedom Fighters, Owning Space, Building a Movement Supervisor: Dr Danai Mupotsa A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the partial requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand. Department of African Literature March 2017 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………4 Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 List of Tables and List of Figures………………………………………………………………………….6 1. Introduction and Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………………7 1.1. The Rise of the Economic Freedom Fighters: Context……………………………………………………………..16 1.2. Rationale……………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………….18 1.3. Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...21 1.4. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………………………………………………..........21 2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………………… ….26 2.1. Black Women in Politics: A Fight for Belonging……………………………………………………………………...26 2.2. Black Women’s Political Legacies in South Africa: A Sight for Erasure & (Re)memory……………..30 2.3. The Status of Women in South Africa: Contemporary Dynamics……………………………………………..31 3. EFF Gender Policy Practice…………………………………………………………………………..34 3.1. Economic Freedom Fighters: Evaluating its Articulated Gender Discourse……………………………...34 3.2. “No male will replace a female”: The Economic Freedom Fighter’s Commitment to Gender Parity………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….48 4. Methodological Framework…………………………………………………………………………54 4.1. “An African Feminist Standpoint?”………………………………………………………………………………………..54 4.2. In Conversation with My Commissars: Utilizing Participatory Research Methods…………………..60 4.3. An Ethic of Freedom……………………………………………………………………………………………………………65 5. Findings: Autobiographical Profiles of Six Women Leaders in the Economic Freedom Fighters……………………………………………………………………………………….. 68 5.1. Nokulunga Primrose Sonti: Member of Parliament and Member of the Central Command Team……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………70 5.2. Naledi Chirwa: Spokesperson of the Students Command……………………………………………………….79 5.3. Veronica Mente: Member of Parliament and Member of the Central Command Team……………...89 5.4. Mandisa Mashego: Acting Chair of the Gauteng Region and Member of Legislature in Gauteng...95 5.5. Hlengiwe Hlophe: Deputy Secretary General and Member of Parliament………………………………106 5.6. Leigh-Ann Mathys: Treasurer General and Member of Parliament…………………………………………..............................................................................................................113 6. Discussion and Conclusion: A Call for African Feminist Movement Building and Imagination ………………………………………………………………………………………………...121 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………….139 2 Declaration I declare that this is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the partial requirements of the Degree of Masters in African Literature, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. Signature………………………………………… Date: 15 March 2017 Simamkele Dlakavu 3 Acknowledgements To Mama and Tata, enkosi ngothando lwenu. I thank God daily for blessing me ngani. Ndinithanda ngentliziyo yam yonke. To my brothers and sisters, sho bo rhasi! Ndinithanda laweyi! Thank you to the entire African Literature Department at Wits, you are a home that I sadly discovered late in my academic journey and you are a home that I never want to leave. I will always return for visits. I’ve been in many departments at Wits and YOU are the best that Wits has to offer! Dr Danai Mupotsa, you are brilliant! You are kind and generous! At times I felt so undeserving of your awesomeness, thank you for helping me through the finish line. We did it!!! I will always treasure the bond I formed with you. Your methodology of supervision and the community you created for us was LEADERSHIP! Prof Pumla Gqola, Dr Barbara Boswell, Dr Siphokazi Magadla and Gqobani Qambela, your mentorship and guidance contributed immensely to my work, please know that I appreciated very conversation we had. When I couldn’t afford a “professional editor”, guardian angels came to my rescue, they were: Lihle Ngcobozi, Pumla Bonani, and Dr Shepard Mpofu, ndiyabulela comrades. Zinhle Manzini, you were the perfect study buddy and sister, we did this together, halaaala! To my organisation, the Economic Freedom Fighters and its leaders, thank you for trusting me with such intimate parts of our movement. There were times where I felt rage and disappointment because of some my findings. And then there were moments I felt complete joy, pride, hope and a debilitating anxiety. The later emotions were caused by Black women leaders of the EFF who agreed to be in conversation with me for the purposes of this inquiry. You moved me beyond words. Thank you Nokulunga Primrose Sonti! Thank you Hlengiwe Hlophe! Thank you Veronica Mente! Thank you Naledi Chirwa! Thank you Mandisa Mashego! Thank you Leigh-Ann Mathys! I am so proud to be led by you Commissars. You are kind, brilliant, committed, strategic, and simply magic. I felt a huge responsibly towards you in drafting this thesis. Thank you to the three anonymous women leaders of the EFF who agreed to be in conversation with me #Asijiki 4 ABBREVIATIONS ANC African National Congress ANCWL African National Congress Women’s League ANCYL African National Congress Youth League ASGISA Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa BC Black Consciousness BCM Black Consciousness Movement CCT Central Command Team CGE South African Commission for Gender Equality CIC Commander in Chief COPE Congress of the People DP Deputy President DSG Deputy Secretary General EFF Economic Freedom Fighters GEAR Growth, Employment and Redistribution IEC Independent Electoral Commission JPP Johannesburg People’s Pride MK Umkhonto WeSizwe MP Member of Parliament NDP National Development Plan PAC Pan Africanist Congress PCT Provincial Command Team RCT Regional Command Team SNI September National Imbizo TANU Tanzania African National Union TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UDM United Democratic Party UNIP United National Independence Party 5 List of Tables 1. Gender Awareness Rating by Gender Links (2016)…………………………………………………………………46 2. Gender Outcomes of the 2016 Local Elections by Gender Links (2016)……………………………………50 List of Figures 1. Economic Freedom Fighters First Press Conference………………………………………………………………48 2. Twitter Post on EFF Women MP’s from @SimamkeleD……………………………………………………………70 3. #RememberKhwezi Protest at the IEC……………………………………………………………………………………88 4. EFF Mpumalanga’s Twitter Post……………………………………………………………………………………………44 5. Leigh-Ann Mathys Twitter Post……………………………………………………………………………………………115 6. Parliament of South Africa’s Twitter Post……………………………………………………………………………..131 7. EFF Official Account’s Twitter Post……………………………………………………………………………………….131 6 1. Introduction and Theoretical Framework South Africa was introduced to the new political formation called the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on the 12th of July in 2013. In a press conference dominated by a significant majority of Black1 men wearing red berets, it’s Commander and Chief (CIC), Julius Malema remarked: We will take over South Africa and we will usher in the demands of our people. We will fight against white supremacy and we will fight for restoration of Black African dignity. Our people should feel confident again that this is their soil. (Mail & Guardian 2013) In this study, I am interested in the current political moments that Black South Africans are living through. I begin from the basis of a political understanding which recognises that the negotiated settlement in the early 1990’s failed to significantly alter the socio- economic conditions of the majority of Black South Africans. This political outlook acknowledges that white supremacy and Black indignity, as echoed by Malema in the aforementioned statement, still defines the South African reality. The EFF has crafted itself as the political party that is committed to undoing the historical legacy of slavery, colonialism and apartheid which continue to define racialised economic inequality in contemporary South Africa. Since 2013, the EFF has grown to secure its position as the third largest political party in South Africa and is the official opposition party in two provinces in the country, the North West and Limpopo (IEC 2014). The EFF has also described itself as a leader in Black left politics in the country, as party spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi expressed: “we [ the EFF] are the only people in the left of South African politics who can quantify our support to be way beyond a million; no one else can do that” (2015).In their entry into South African politics, the EFF has been critiqued within left formations as an “essentially a populist movement, prone to undemocratic practices and therefore not to be counted as part of a new left movement” (Nieftagodien 2015: 448). In its proclamation as the political champion that will usher in economic liberation for Black South Africans who are the faces of poverty, unemployment and landlessness, the 1 The word ‘Black’ is capitalized within this research report for political reasons inspired by the Black Consciousness Movement. ‘Black’ is utilized to describe all racialized oppressed groups under apartheid South Africa. It is also a symbol