Intersectionality of Gender, Race and Class: Experiences of Black South African Women

Apartheid signage, 1953. 

Photo credit: Drum Social Histories / Baileys African History

Archive / Africa Media Online

South Africa has a rich history of racial oppression and discrimination. Until the early 1990s, it was legally segregated, under the apartheid regime imposed by the white ruling class. The apartheid government forced the black population to move to separate “homelands”. The living conditions in the “homelands” were very poor with inadequate access to basic services such as water (Lomax, 2014). Post-Apartheid, poverty and inequality still strongly prevail and the wealthy people still maintain their greater access to resources. In my last few posts, I have spoken about the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, class and gender and how it creates a unique experience of marginalisation. Today I will be continuing this by exploring the experiences of black South African women with water.

SA has one highest amount of female headed households in Africa, according to the Departmentof Health, Medication Research Council (2007), nearly 50% of all households in SA are female headed. This due to combination of complex reasons including prevalence of HIV and AIDS economic conditions and migration. Consequently, these women are responsible for the triple burden of providing economic and emotional support while also performing the household tasks (Bradshaw et al, 2013). With the privatisation of public services including water, many people cannot afford to pay to their bills and so are consequently cut off from the water line (Kehler,2001). This has several gendered implications - when the water is cut off, women have to rely on far away, potentially un-safe sources to look after the children and the elderly, cook and clean. Furthermore, collection of water can be very time consuming and so could hinder the women’s potential to generate an income.

One of the efforts taken to reverse the inequalities brought about by the Apartheid system was the National Water Act (1988). Under the act, the Water User Associations (WUAs) were created . The National Water Act and WUAs were introduced with the aim to transfer the responsibility of water management back to the community (Ahlers et al, 2011). However, such schemes have largely failed to incorporate the views of the black community members, particularly the women. Kemerink et al's (2013) research on the WUA in the Thukela River Basin highlights this. Despite 85% of the community being Black and 5% white, each group was equally distributed in the committee with 5 members each. Furthermore, only 1 person in the committee is black woman. Her role in the committee was severely undermined and questioned by white male committee members, one of whom stated - ‘the black woman from the township who sits in the management committee is growing some tomatoes in a little garden or so. I don’t know what she will use more water for, she does not need it'. He suggests that she doesn’t need any water, clearly suggesting that he and other members are unable to understand the need and interests of the black female committee members.

It is extremely clear that the damage created by years of segregation on the ground of race, ethnicity, class and gender still impacts South African society today. The privatisation of water in many parts of SA means that black women still remained disadvantaged, and so hindering their socio-economic progress. While legislations such as the National Water Act appear to bring about changes in paper but these changes have not translated in the practice.

Refugee women and peacebuilding through water management

Continuing from last week’ post on intersectionality and the idea that oppression often intersects. Gender can intersect with ethnicity, class and disability to create a unique experience of discrimination and marginalisation.

Photo credit: UN/Olivia Grey Pritchard

 Today I will expand on this by exploring the experiences of refugee women. They are often one of the most marginalised members of society- usually poor, lack access to healthcare, adequate housing and democratic rights. This post will argue that women are active agents of change, despite the assumptions that women are ‘passive victims’ of war (Burt and Keiru,2011: 233). It will do so by exploring the gender dynamics within a conflict and post conflict setting. It will then go on to explain how external actors and government can help them maintain their status as active agents by empowering women. Finally, explain how providing them female spaces and opportunities for discussion and action can result in positive changes for the whole community.

Why is water in peacebuilding settings a gendered issue?

Under stressful and tough peacebuilding situations, there is often a shift in the gender roles. For example, as a consequence of warfare, many women are left widowed and head of households, therefore the family becomes dependent on the woman for the emotionally and financially (Burt and Keiru,2011: 233).

The women are responsible for collecting resources, such as water to support the family, consequently they have an interest in the management of water (Burt and Keiru,2011). When they leave the camps to access water, they often place themselves in danger of gender-based violence, especially if resource degradation means that they have to travel very long distances to find suitable sources of water and firewood (UN Women, 2013). Furthermore, in areas of water scarcity, water is a source of power which can be used for sexual exploitation (Cronin et al, 2008). In addition, the lack of water restricts women from participating in income-generating activities to improve their lives. Therefore, it is essential to not only understand the relationship between women and natural resources but also how such situations can be used to empower women and improve their role in resource management.

Role of external actors

External actors can work with women to mobilise them into taking action. In Henry town, Liberia, local women's group was led by Yamai Mansally was set up to advocate for hand pumps in their town to reduce GVB. They worked alongside an NGO (Tearfund) who to raise awareness about the dangers of collecting water for women, as well as other social, health and economic reasons why access of water is important to women, as well providing the women in the committee with leadership training (Burt and Keiru, 2011). As a consequence, the Henry Town Community Development Committee (CDC) agreed to build new hand-pump in the town that will reduce the journey time and the risk of collecting water. Following this success, the CDC have also recognised the need to include women in their committee for effective decision making about the towns resources. This is a good example of how external actors can help encourage and empower women to become agents of change within their community.

Women and girls safe spaces (WGSS)

WGSS are spaces where women can feel 'safe' to express themselves in judgement-free space and seek support regarding GVB or other women's issues. These spaces are used in many conflict-affected areas to protect and empower women (UN Women, 2012).For example, The UN-African Union Hybrid Mission(UNAMID) in Darfur made an effort to hire more female military personnel (UN Women, 2013). The idea is that the women will feel more comfortable discussing their concerns and ideas, for example regarding sexual violence or female sanitation, with another female. Similarly, in Swina village in the DCR, a female headed women’s group was organised for similar reasons and they ended up solving the village water issue. During the civil war (1997- 2003), many of the women of Swina went to live in refugee camps, under the tough conditions women learnt  about the importance of safe drinking water and sanitation (Burt and Keiru, 2011). Upon their return, they were shocked by the state of the water in the village. People of Swina and Ihua villagers (the village upstream of Swina) were in serious disagreement as Ihua villagers were dumping waste into the shared river. The women’s group identified uncontaminated water sources but it was located upstream of Ihua village. So, the women of Swina went to Ihua to come up with a resolution. They highlighted the benefits of the alternative water sources for both villages and were able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. The villagers then worked together to build the new water system. The women’s committee then replicated this success by implementing the same strategy in neighboring villages to build community water scheme that benefited 60,000 people. This case perfectly highlights how when positive female spaces for discussion are created, women can flourish as active change makers, in post-conflict settings.

The switch in gender roles in peacebuilding settings help women take on new challenges and experiences that empowers them to become active agents of change in the community. External actors such as NGOs need to recognize and help build on this, as in the case of Liberia, Tearfund supported and encouraged the women to take action regarding the water situation in their village. Female spaces have also proved very effective as the women feel comfortable exploring their ideas and concerns in these spaces. It also raises their confidence to fight for their beliefs in front of the main (usually male-dominated) committees.