Colonial hotspots : reflecting on my conditional citizenship as a ‘coloured’ [woman] in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The prevailing geopolitical situation has perpetuated epistemic and ontological violence against the citizens of Africa. This indicates that geopolitics have an impact on socio-spatial relations and human interactions that may affect the citizenship of oppressed persons. This paper contains reflections on the conditional citizenship of the author, who is legally identified as a Coloured [woman] in post-Apartheid South Africa. The racial classification Coloured [women], which was created during Apartheid, remains a divisive racial category in post-Apartheid South Africa, one that preserves stereotypes and negative connotations. The author draws the reader’s attention to her geographical location as a specific site of silencing and oppression that has served the reproduction of colonial and Apartheid ideology. Since her location has facilitated subjugation and created conditional citizenship, both of which render Coloured [women] vulnerable to dehumanizing, this specific location is identified as a ‘colonial hotspot’ in emphasis of how colonial and Apartheid epistemes are embedded in present-day socio-spatial relations. Moreover, as a Coloured [woman] in this colonial hotspot, her gender remains silent. The objective of this paper is to emphasize the importance of decolonizing colonial hotspots and warn that failing to devote attention to these phenomena may lead to the recolonizing of socio-spatial relations.