Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Global Apartheid: A Black Feminist Analysis Of Motherwork In Townships, Autumn G. Diaz

Global Honors Theses

This thesis examines intersectional oppression operating within a South African township through the framework of Black Feminist Thought. Due to colonialism and the lingering effects of Apartheid-era policies, experiences of Black women in South Africa - particularly motherhood - must be navigated in a constant state of intersecting racism, sexism, and classism. In this current study, daily lived experiences are documented in thick, descriptive detail through portraiture, describing a day in the life of Somanga, a mother and non-governmental organization (NGO) employee residing in a township in the outskirts of Cape Town. Themes of conditional and individual violence, motherwork, othermothering, …