An Afrodecolonial analysis of the resistance by the widowed women of Marikana

Abstract

In 2012, South Africans were bombarded with audio-visual material that captured the longest protracted strike in mining historiography, including the killing of unarmed striking mine workers. Shortly after, a plethora of publications flooded the market about the phenomenon. Most publications were silent on women’s narratives and those that existed primarily focused on the women who lived at Marikana. This dissertation sets out to excavate the voices of the widowed women of Marikana who resided far from Marikana but participated in the struggle. Consequently, the dissertation offers an Afrodecolonial reading of Marikana and the resistance that transpired through the widowed women from labour-sending communities termed the extended social reproductive sphere. The thesis posits the question of how the widowed women partook in resistance, and to answer this question; the thesis focused on the narratives and actions they engaged in. The researcher found that the widowed women partook in resistance, albeit distinct from the traditional modes of resistance. The widowed women invite us to think about resistance linked to the productive economy in ways that do not exclusively privilege class struggles or the immediate community struggles. The thesis developed an Afrodecolonial research paradigm, philosophy, and ontology and expanded on decolonial epistemic debates in research methods. The thesis deployed a hexagonal approach to data by weaving five data sets to excavate the actions and voices of the widowed women of Marikana. The widows’ narratives provide an empirical understanding of global debates about the coloniality of power, knowledge and being.