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Accepted Paper:
"We have nothing to celebrate". At the interplay of de-politicizing and re-politicizing processes in the feminist civil society space in the fight against gender-based violence in Cape Town
Paula Vermue
(University of Amsterdam)
Paper long abstract:
This article illustrates the social experiences of de-politicizing and re-politicizing processes in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide in the feminist civil society space in Cape Town, South Africa. I aim to add to the well-known critique of the de-politicization of the gendered international development agenda, by illustrating that alongside de-politicizing processes, also forces of re-politicization are at play. The fight against gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa is not picked up by developmental organizations alone; South Africa also has a rich culture of feminist activism. I argue that with the emerge of an new autonomous feminist movement in 2018, The Total Shutdown, the de-politicization and re-politicization of gender-based violence happens simultaneously. Individuals move between different spaces of resistance to renegotiate their feminist ideological standpoints to challenge and disrupt post-Apartheid (non-)actions in tackling the high rates of rape and femicide in the country. This research shows that the boundary between NGO benefactors and activists is a blurry one; both groups move between spaces to create the counter-narratives and the counter-identifications they can identify with, to achieve their feminist goals to end femicide in South Africa and to reclaim personal feelings of (women) empowerment.
Decolonizing the knowledge linkages between Africa and the rest of the world [initiated by the University of Cape Town]
Session 1