Rainbow Nation Research Articles

Decolonisation is not even a footnote: On the dominant ideologies and smokescreens in South African higher education

The turn to democracy in South Africa brought hope for a higher education sector that would play a key role in tackling racial inequalities and injustices. However, transformation promises ended up being largely smokescreens for maintaining entrenched racist and capitalist logics rooted in colonialism and apartheid. Instead of focusing on epistemic decolonisation, universities became commodified and commercialised neoliberal enterprises focused on the maintenance of Eurocentric epistemic hegemony. In this conceptual article framed within the decolonial theoretical framework, we critically interrogate how two dominant ideologies – the Rainbow Nation and neoliberalism – have sidelined fundamental transformation and epistemic decolonisation in South Africa. Focusing on the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Strategic Plan 2020–2025, we illustrate that decolonisation is not government’s priority and that neoliberal visions continue to dominate strategic planning for higher education. We argue that the lack of political will and policy alignment from the government will contribute to the further entrenchment of coloniality, Eurocentricity and neoliberal logics at universities. We conclude with the call for critical engagement with the history of universities and their role in propagating and supporting colonialism and apartheid and argue that progressive scholars and students must continue to organise within South Africa and beyond and work on the radical dismantling of the Eurocentric and neoliberal universities.Contribution: While other scholars have engaged separately with neoliberalism and the Rainbow Nation and their impact on higher education in South Africa, in this article, we bring these two ideologies together to show how they have combined to prevent decolonisation of higher education.

The Plight of Employment Policies that Exclude Customary Practices in the Workplace

South Africa is called a “rainbow nation”, and with its 11 official languages, the country is a melting pot of diverse cultures, traditions, and beliefs. This diversity is not without challenges. This brings interesting and complex questions from an employment perspective; therefore, striking a balance between the employer’s rights versus the employee’s traditional practices has become a significant challenge. The article analyses these challenges that arise as a result of the failure of section 8(3) of the Constitution to give a direct mandate to develop customary law to put into effect or limit a right that is found in the Bill of Rights and in this instance the right to fair labour practices in terms of section 23. The article will also analyse the cases dealing with employees who wanted to enforce their rights conferred to them by the Constitution to practice their culture but were excluded and discriminated against on some of the grounds listed in section 9(3) of the Constitution. The article will conclude by recommending that labour laws and the Constitution should be reviewed to cater for native persons, in particular, the recognition of customary laws and practices at the workplace.

Transformation of the Constitutional Identity in South Africa aft er the Fall of Apartheid

Abstract This article investigates the designed transformation of South African political identity and its constitutional framework as a core aspect of the democratization of South Africa. It compares the racist and exclusive identity of the apartheid state with a redesigned identity of an inclusive and open ‘Rainbow Nation’, a concept coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and spearheaded by Nelson R. Mandela along with the African National Congress. The study considers changes in the legal framework of identity politics, from the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act of 1983 (and the previous apartheid republican Constitution of 1961) through the interim democratic Constitution of 1993 to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. It discusses the possible significance of the 18 amendments to the act regarding South Africans’ social and political identities, and establishes a complex and detailed portrayal of the republic’s legal framework of identity politics. The study combines legal, political, and cultural analysis of the role of law in formatting social and political identities, using survey results to test its impact on society. In conclusion, the paper considers the effects of post-apartheid identity transformation in South Africa.

Constructing Global Identity Through Creative Linguistic and Artistic Branding of African Countries’ Monikers

This qualitative study investigated into the complex dynamics of African nation monikers and their profound implications for national identity and international branding. The purpose of the research was to examine the interplay between linguistic inventiveness and artistic representation in 54 African nations, exploring how these components contributed to shaping global perceptions. Adopting a content analysis approach, the study systematically investigated linguistic nuances and artistic depictions associated with each nation's moniker. The population comprised the 54 diverse African nations, ensuring a purposive and representative sampling approach that considered linguistic, cultural, and geographical variations. Data was sourced from official documents, historical records, and public discourse surrounding each nation's moniker, with a focus on linguistic analysis from official statements, literature, and media representations. Artistic representations were examined through visual sources such as national emblems, flags, and associated symbols. The findings revealed a complex tapestry of linguistic features firmly anchored in cultural and historical contexts. Artistic depictions, including visual metaphors and symbols, contributed significantly to each nation's unique character. Notable examples included Nigeria's "The Giant of Africa" and South Africa's "The Rainbow Nation." Recommendations emphasized the strategic use of linguistic and artistic components to enhance international image, recognizing their critical role in shaping global perceptions of African nations. The study also acknowledged its limitations and proposed directions for future research, offering valuable insights into the nuanced dynamics of language and creative expression in constructing national identity on the global stage.

‘Pastoral and ecclesial madness’ Facing the failure of ‘democratism’ within the current civil turmoil in South Africa

‘Pastoral and ecclesial madness’ Facing the failure of ‘democratism’ within the current civil turmoil in South Africa

Contested Heritage in South Africa: Perspectives from Mahikeng

Mahikeng, the seat of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District and capital of South Africa’s North West province, has identified tourism as an economic driver based on cultural heritage related to Batswana, Boer, and British contestation. However, the colonial heritage is underutilised as visitors come to Mahikeng (formerly Mafeking) in search of experiences relating to the siege of Mafeking, the Anglo–Boer War, and the origins of the Boy Scouts movement but leave disappointed. This heritage has been downgraded in democratic post-apartheid South Africa as there is an agenda that seeks to highlight African cultural heritage, particularly relating to the anti-apartheid struggle. This formerly suppressed cultural heritage needs to be promoted as it is crucial to South Africa’s history, identity, and social cohesion. However, other heritages that are also important are falling by the wayside with the result that the country’s diversity as the ‘rainbow nation’ is being eroded, and heritage tourism opportunities, which could prompt Local Economic Development (LED), are missed. A more critical engagement with the colonial heritage by including African perspectives, critiques, interactions, and roles within the narrative is needed.

When the Rainbow is Bittersweet: Reflections on Being Queer and Indian in Durban

South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that no longer criminalises same-sex sexual activity, and the only one to recognise same-sex marriage under the legal system. Yet, at the same time, several groups in the country practice a conservatism that discourages people from being themselves, be it in professing their gender or their sexuality. This article explores the trials and tribulations of making a documentary film with a minority population within one such minority population – Queer and Indian – in Durban, the site of the largest number of Indians outside India. Written in a reflective style that frames the positioning of the authors, a key question posed is: what are the daily issues that queer South African people deal with? Battling with conservatism while trying to find one’s queer voice is just one of them. The film engages with a few people who were generous to allow us to use their experiences with the state, the society, and healthcare. How does one reconcile the Rainbow Nation, the promise of constitutional equality with the insularity that people face on a regular basis? This article aims to be the start of a much larger conversation that needs to be had.

Rainbow nation discourses among Black millennial history teachers in relation to post-apartheid South African history

Generational experiences create unique contextualised meanings for society. This is the case with millennials in South Africa, many of whom use social media to organise their lives and engage with issues pertinent to them, such as South Africa being a rainbow nation. Some of these millennials are history teachers who, when at work, have to teach an official history which may contradict some of their social media engagements. This motivated this article of which the aim was to identify the dominant conversations when relating to the rainbow nation among a selected group of Black millennial history teachers. In this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) we used a qualitative approach in which 10 participants were involved in photo elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and focus-group discussions. Data were thematically analysed. The findings reflect millennials mainly engaged with violence, coloniality, victory, unity, and identity. The findings further suggest that the discourses were both contending and overlapping. We argue that millennial history teachers in South Africa hold different views about the rainbow nation: even though they paint the notion with predominant negativity, there is evidence of underlying positivity about it.

House of Hunger

Abstract In South Africa, the politicisation of COVID-19 widened structural fissures, unearthed underlying inequalities, and exposed the ‘rainbow nation’ fallacy. The pandemic highlighted the struggles faced by marginalised households whose income streams were wiped out during lockdown. Public unrest emerged in townships and manifested as food protests, which undermined the perception of South Africa as a food secure country. Whilst the state and mainstream media dismissed these protests as criminal incidences, a contextualised analysis exposes the desperation of certain groups’ experiences of hunger and disillusionment in Black South African townships. Framing ‘food as political’, this paper interrogates the weaponisation of food by the government, which violently used state security forces to subdue marginalised populations. The paper draws on Dambudzo Marechera’s 1978 novella House of Hunger to condemn the gendered and militarised state response to ‘starving black bodies.’ It exposes the ruthlessness of how the state worked with mainstream media to protect corporate capital and foreign investments in the name of ‘security’ and ‘wellbeing,’ and explores the ultimate ‘logic’ of food protests in South African urban areas. In conclusion, the paper argues that the mainstream media hyper-visualised Black bodies as unruly, criminal, and therefore disposable, in order to dismiss their human right to food.

Prismatic Performances: Queer South Africa and the Fracturing of the Rainbow Nation by April Sizemore-Barber (review)

Prismatic Performances: Queer South Africa and the Fracturing of the Rainbow Nation by April Sizemore-Barber (review)

Prismatic Performances: Queer South Africa and the Fracturing of the Rainbow Nation by April Sizemore-Barber (review)

Prismatic Performances: Queer South Africa and the Fracturing of the Rainbow Nation by April Sizemore-Barber (review)

South African Higher Education as Mutating Plantation: Critical Reflections on Navigating a Racialized Space

In 1994, South Africa’s political governance changed from being a White minority-controlled apartheid state to a democracy—a relatively peaceful transition underpinned by a social cohesion and reconciliation ideology, namely, that all (both perpetrators and the oppressed) were victims requiring healing in the new proverbial “rainbow nation.” Reconciling racial fractures, anti-Blackness and unevenness of the higher education landscape, however, remains elusive. In this paper, we engage narrative inquiry to reflect as academics of color on our experiences in the last two and a half decades, of negotiating a mutating higher education space still haunted by residual racial hegemony and anti-Blackness in almost every sphere of the fraternity. We draw on Grosfoguel’s Fanonian-inspired constructs, namely, the “zones of being and non-being” and his conception of racism as beyond mere color racism but as a “dehumanization related to the materiality of domination.” We argue that color racism as it relates to the traditional apartheid plantation model has morphed into a neoliberal plantation in the higher education space with new colonial masters (managerial elites in the zone of being) and that Black students and Black academics continue to experience the university as alien as they assimilate hegemonic western Eurocentric culture and epistemology. We consider how we might stand in the cracks, look through and prise open such cracks in agentic contemplation of a resistance to emerging new forms of racism and anti-Blackness that present in South African higher education and how we might respond to student activism (the #RhodesMustFall movement) that calls for curriculum transformation and decolonization. An agenda at risk of subversion by the neoliberal grand narrative.

Rereading the story of Hagar in Genesis 16:1-16 as a narrative of prejudice in South Africa.

The present research is a rereading of the Hagar narrative in view of prejudice in South Africa. Some previous contributions on the Hagar narrative have tended to pursue either exegetical or hermeneutic route. The present research comprises an eight-tier structure. However, the Hagar narrative is explored in lieu of the following two foci. First, a critical exegesis of the Hagar narrative (Genesis 16:1-16) is given. The critical exegesis is a verse-by-verse analysis of the narrative. The analysis seeks to present clarity for the readership where some ambiguity and inconsistency occur in the narrative. For example, the study interrogates the flight of a pregnant Hagar from Sarah in Mamre and travels a journey of approximately 340km to Shur at the border with Egypt. Other misunderstood parts of the text include the enslavement, marriage and mistreatment of Hagar by Abraham and Sarah. Second, a rereading of the Hagar story as a narrative of prejudice in South Africa is explored. It is argued that the attempt is not to regard the narrative as a historical reality and that Hagar will not be discussed as a historical figure. On the contrary, the present study examines the concepts and themes in the Hagar narrative considering the perceived oppression and prejudice devastating post-apartheid South Africa today. The study argues that South Africa has not successfully dismantled apartheid policies by the dawning of majority rule; unemployment, poverty and abortion continue to depict the ‘rainbow nation’ in a bad light. For example, legalization of abortion contradicts the African Ubuntu philosophy. Hence, “…Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:9) suggests a perpetuity of apartheid policies. However, a rereading of the Hebrew phrase translated as “The well of him that lives and sees” (see Genesis 16:14), portrays Hagar envisioning triumph and a dispensation of euphoria beyond her situation of deprivation and prejudice. The study is, therefore, poised towards a feminist discussion of Hagar as an African mother (wife) who was jettisoned to take care of the young children solely and single-handedly. The study utilizes a contextual content analysis as an approach in which secondary data analysis on the Hagar narrative will be explored in light of the biblical text as the primary source. The study revolves around a symbolic interactionism theory.

Analysing the Plight of HIV-positive Women in South African Society as Represented in Sindiwe Magona’s Beauty’s Gift

Statistics show that South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/Aids in the world, with a prevalence of 18.9% of adults afflicted, and women much more vulnerable to the infection than men. Although anti-retrovirals are widely available, social injustices such as poverty and the low status of women contribute to this gendered disparity. In the novel Beauty’s Gift (2008), the author Sindiwe Magona relates a narrative in which four women lose their best friend to Aids, prompting them to take decisive action as women who play a significant role within the domain of the family. The Aids activist Jackie Achmat has called this novel “one of the most important books about HIV/AIDS in our country.” This article examines the fictional representation of the plight of HIV-positive women in South Africa through an analysis of the characterisation and the author’s representations of socio-cultural injustice suffered by these women. The paper further explores the advocacy and agency of these women characters during the time of sickness. With respect to stigma and discrimination, in the context of HIV and Aids, I argue that despair and hopelessness thrive in situations where women are plagued by sickness. I further argue that shame and secrecy are social conditions that perpetuate the spread of HIV, leading to a common response of silence. Lastly, the representations of bereavement and grief are analysed in this article. My examination of the agency of women characters in the chosen novel is underpinned by the theory of African feminism, which engages with, critiques, and develops Western feminism, influenced by African women’s resistance to Western hegemony and its legacy within African culture. Charged with the duties of transforming societies through both intellectual and pragmatic approaches, African feminists illuminate ways women manage and challenge multiple oppressions. Using this theoretical lens that reveals ways in which Magona elicits identification and empathy on the part of readers, which can assist in stimulating positive change as depicted in Beauty’s Gift, thus re-imagining and reconfiguring the Rainbow Nation.

Analysing the Plight of HIV-positive Women in South African Society as Represented in Sindiwe Magona’s Beauty’s Gift

This article proceeds from the understanding that literature is the mirror of society, reflecting problematic features, failures to provide social justice, and attempts to live with dignity and hope. Statistics show that South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/Aids in the world, with a prevalence of 18.9% of adults afflicted, and women much more vulnerable to the infection than men. Although anti-retrovirals are widely available, social injustices such as poverty and the low status of women contribute to this gendered disparity. In the novel Beauty’s Gift (2008), author Sindiwe Magona relates a narrative in which four women lose their best friend to Aids, prompting them to take decisive action as women who play a significant role within the domain of the family. The Aids activist Zackie Achmat has called this novel “one of the most important books about HIV/AIDS in our country.” This article examines the fictional representation of the plight of HIV-positive women in South Africa through an analysis of the characterisation and the author’s representations of socio-cultural injustice suffered by these women. The paper further explores the advocacy and agency of these women characters during the time of sickness. With respect to stigma and discrimination, in the context of HIV and Aids, I argue that despair and hopelessness thrive in situations where women are plagued by sickness. I further argue that shame and secrecy are social conditions that perpetuate the spread of HIV, leading to a common response of silence. Lastly, the representations of bereavement and grief are analysed in this article. My examination of the agency of women characters in the chosen novel is underpinned by the theory of African feminism, which engages with, critiques and develops Western feminism, influenced by African women’s resistance to Western hegemony and its legacy within African culture. Charged with the duties of transforming societies through both intellectual and pragmatic approaches, African feminists illuminate ways women manage and challenge multiple oppressions. Using this theoretical lens enables me to reveal ways in which Magona elicits identification and empathy on the part of readers, which can assist in stimulating positive change as depicted in Beauty’s Gift, thus re-imagining and reconfiguring the Rainbow Nation.

Xenophobia and the of the refugee in the rainbow nation of human rights

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Becoming more and more European: nationhood, Europe, and same-Sex sexualities in the life stories of Lithuanian LGBQ people

ABSTRACT I discuss Lithuanian LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer) people’s views on belonging to the West/EUrope. I will argue that the research participants’ age group, location of residence, their (not)involvement with LGBTQ+ leisure culture and/or their migrant status made a significant impact towards forming their subjective sense of (not) belonging to the West, when they discussed their personal experiences of spending time abroad. When belonging to the West/EUrope was discussed against the backdrop of national belonging, the research participants syncretised the elements of the dominant nationalistic narrative, and the Rainbow Europe narrative in order to homosexualise the national canon and to construct an accommodating version of Lithuania as the Rainbow Nation.

Tribalism and Ethnophobia Among Black South Africans

The paper examines the consolidation and implications of tribalism and ethnophobia among black South Africans. South Africa is considered a xenophobic country. With the demise of apartheid and the subsequent increase in undocumented migration, tensions began to develop, not only against black foreign nationals but also among black South Africans themselves. This paper focuses on how tribalism and ethnophobia have divided black South Africans and removed the need for unity and social cohesion in a post-apartheid era. This paper employed a qualitative research approach where a literature review was undertaken. The othering theory was used as a theoretical lens. Findings reflect that although South Africa is recognized as a rainbow nation because of its many different cultures and customs, it is hidden beneath ethnic and tribal emotions that have stifled the idea of unity and social cohesion. South Africa is still far from eradicating tribalistic and ethnophobic sentiments amongst its black population. Apart from ethnicity and tribalism, race continues to divide South Africa. The political transition of 1994 lacked effective frameworks to unite the various ethnic groups that were for decades segregated by apartheid; instead, the focus was on building a new South Africa. However, this approach missed the mark by not focusing on the importance of ethnic unity and tolerance among black South Africans. Unless these tribalistic and ethnophobic sentiments are addressed, unity and social cohesion in the South African black community is unlikely.

‘For Whom There Is Hope’: Imagining Freedom in Selected Post-apartheid South African Fiction

Following the election of Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa and the formation of the first majority government of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994, it was generally assumed that new bonds between South Africa’s white and black races would be forged and a new economic and social order would be established. Hence, the new government promised to lead the transition towards an all-inclusive society that would be a reflection of the linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity of the country. This larger dream was enshrined, in part, in the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that was expected to provide a sense of moral and ethical direction for the country. This article interrogates K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams (2001), Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow (2001), Zakes Mda’s The Madonna of Excelsior (2007) and J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999) to uncover the extent to which the different races and classes aspire towards a hopeful and inclusive ‘non-racial’ ethical future. Reading the Rainbow nation alongside its images of nation building and inclusive development, this article builds upon dominant national symbols that portray social, economic, cultural and political reforms in the country. The four texts are evaluated on the basis of the suggested intimated freedoms in those for ‘whom there is hope’ in the ‘new’ South Africa. Locating the place of ethics in contemporary South African literature, the article interrogates the images of the ‘new’ nation and the dominant tropes of sympathy, reconciliation, friendship, forgiveness, and nation building as espoused in the four post-apartheid novels. The article further evaluates the interactions between the different racial and ethnic groups forging forward a collective multicultural nationhood in the present moment.

Racial inequality and the imperative critique of the South African negotiated settlement

The former South African first black President’s vision aimed to unite and fight racial tensions and inequalities by introducing and envisioning a South Africa for all who live in it. However, twenty-five years later, the post-apartheid South Africa is riddled with cancerous ills such as racial inequality, racism, and failure to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. This paper will attest to the notion that the 1994 rainbow nation ideology is dead because racial inequality is still a norm, and that the implication of the negotiated settlement has preserved racial inequality and its core racist foundations. The ideology of the “rainbow nation” has failed to erode racial inequality in South Africa. It has failed to close the gap between the poor and the rich and most importantly, the “rainbow nation” ideology has shown that it was a one-sided concord dependent on whose privilege matters most and not a collective view to addressing racial inequality. Black South Africans have, therefore, continued to bear the brunt of poverty, unemployment and inequality compared to white South fricans. I argue that the “rainbow nation” has failed to address racial inequality and build the imperative ideology of sameness and togetherness. I will employ a standard method of applied analytical philosophy to perform this task, which is grounded in critical conceptual analysis and systematic rational argumentation.