Blurred Lines: Intersections of Ethnography and Rape in South Africa and Mozambique

Abstract

SummaryIn this article, I examine the blurred lines between my own experience of violence in South Africa and that of the women I encountered while doing fieldwork in Pafuri, Mozambique. I centralize the importance of personal insight to deal with violent sexuality and rape and argue that reflection provides meaning to the process of ethnographic fieldwork. I examine the similarities between my own experience of violence in South Africa and that of my interlocutors in Mozambique, set within a regional political system that marginalizes women's experiences in both countries. While negative experiences of rape stem from a prejudiced history, I argue that these experiences can be overcome through rebirth or initiation. In my case, this was achieved through the personal level of transformation that fieldwork produced, while for women in Pafuri, the initiation (vukhomba) of young girls translates violence into empowerment.