Women, it's time to decolonise our minds! 

Women, it's time to decolonise our minds!

I cannot believe the misogyny of some women. Have we so bought into the male view of the world that we hate ourselves that deeply? If a black who buys into white domination is dubbed an Uncle Tom, what does one call a woman who buys into male domination? Where are the African feminists? Is there a future for an African women’s movement? Why are we women our own worst enemies?

South Africa’s former Deputy President Jacob Zuma is on trial for rape. The weekly Mail and Guardian of South Africa has been covering the trial quite thoroughly, I’ve found. It’s a charged issue, and the M&G has been presenting many of the different sides of the debate. While the trial has been going on, demonstrators have gathered outside the courthouse both in support of the defendant [Jacob Zuma] and the complainant [her name is protected by South African law, but her supporters have dubbed her Khwezi—a Zulu word meaning “star.”]. The demonstrators on both sides are mostly women. But, as the Mail and Guardian points out, the women on the pro-Zuma side appear to be more “ordinary, working class women,” where as the pro-Khwezi side features more “activist, professional and middle-class women.”

Noting this, the paper did a spot survey with women on the streets of South Africa, getting opinions, comments and perspectives on the Zuma trial, and showcased these comments in the article in 'This mama is speaking lies'. I was shocked by some of these comments. The trial is still underway, Zuma should be considered innocent until proven guilty, and naturally every one is entitled to her own opinion the matter. And, of course, because Zuma is such a public figure, and because of his controversial removal from the deputy presidency on allegations of corruption, any one’s opinion on the case will be influenced by their feelings about Zuma. But regardless of Zuma’s stature, the high profile nature of the case would, I thought, create opportunities for women to build their solidarity and support one another in speaking out.

Unfortunately, the comments featured in the Mail and Guardian article paint a shocking, depressing picture of women and our own opinion of and trust in one another. Of the 16 young, black, South African women interviewed, 10 branded Khwezi a liar and an opportunist. And, like the demographics of the women protesting outside the courthouse, opinion seemed largely divided along class lines. The three “professional” women—the photographer, the fashion designer, the camera operator—all voiced their support for Khwezi. But only one of the working class or unemployed women seemed to think that she might have been raped.

Two of the comments that jumped out at me were:

Sthembile Ndwandwe (24), a single mother from Lamontville who distributes flyers for a doctor’s surgery: “This mama is speaking lies because she was in Zuma’s room with that [kanga] on and he could see everything. After that Zuma slept with this mama and then she put the case against him. Zuma will win this case because this mama is speaking lies and all the people know it’s wrong. She’s got too much money and she didn’t really work, where’s this money coming from? This woman is a isigebengu [criminal], she is Zuma’s girlfriend, otherwise why would she sleep with him without a condom? Why would she sleep with him four times? There’s nothing wrong!”

Anna Mashele (51), cleaner at the Bus Factory in Newtown, Johannesburg: “Zuma for president, no matter what. This young girl is crazy and does not respect older people. She has insulted all women in this country, even those supporting her. She’s a bitch and deserves to be jailed for dragging Zuma’s name in the mud. All people supporting her are rotten, like her. She has shown the whole world that she can do anything for money.”

These are the sorts of comments one might expect from men who don’t know any better. But women can only be making these sorts of remarks because the patriarchal view of the world is so dominant they’ve begun to believe it as well. There is a gathering of Southern African women’s organisations next week to discuss the struggling women’s movement in the region, and to develop strategies for strengthening it. I’m hoping that the issue of women buying into the male world view is near the top of the agenda. And that their strategy includes powerful, practical steps to address this.

Colonisation is a word because society recognises the conquest of one culture by another, and the imposition of a new social order that subjugates the old. There is no word like “Patrification”—the imposition of patriarchy on an otherwise functioning society—because the assumption is that patriarchy is “natural.” There might not be a word for it, but as women we must all undergo de-patrification—the process of liberating our minds from the male-centric paradigm, and speaking the truth of gender violence, inequality and sexism that we know we have all experienced.


See also:
One in Nine Website
Black Looks--One in Nine
One in Nine—Supporting women who speak out