![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
Abstract
When we think of Marikana we think of the infamous event that took place on 16 August 2012, leading to the death of 34 striking miners. Scholarly analysis takes this further than the event to broader labour–capital relations. While useful, the examination of Marikana through this lens tends to privilege the production sphere and lends itself mainly to the exploration of the workplace; the workers, their employers and the union. In this article, the author argues that exclusive reliance on this lens is inadequate and inevitably results in many silences, one of which is the silencing of the reproduction sphere and, by extension, women. To fully understand Marikana the event, one has to understand Marikana the location, and hence realities and conditions on the ground. Such an analysis of Marikana is not only useful because it sheds light on the reproduction space, but also because it allows us to look at women who are usually ignored when talking about mines.
[Les mains invisibles : les femmes de Marikana.] Lorsque l’on pense à Marikana, on pense à l’événement infâme qui s’est produit le 16 août 2012, menant à la mort de 34 mineurs. L’analyse académique analyse l’événement à la lumière des relations plus larges entre le travail et le capital. Tout en étant utile, l’examen de Marikana à travers cette perspective tend à privilégier la sphère de la production et aboutit principalement à l’exploration du lieu de travail, des travailleurs, leurs employés et le syndicat. Dans cet article, l’auteur soutient que de ne regarder cet évènement qu’à travers cette perspective est inadéquat et entraine inévitablement des silences, un desquels étant la sphère de la reproduction et, par extension, les femmes. Afin de comprendre complètement l’événement Marikana, on doit comprendre l’endroit Marikana, et par là les réalités et conditions sur le terrain. Une telle analyse de Marikana est utile non seulement car il met en lumière l’espace de reproduction, mais aussi car il permet de considérer les femmes qui sont habituellement ignorées lorsque l’on parle des mines.
Acknowledgements
This research was made possible by the generous support of the Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) at the University of Kassel, Germany.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), grant number 78662.
Note on contributor
Asanda Benya is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology and a fellow at the Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Between October 2011 and December 2012, I was conducting my PhD research on women mineworkers in a mining complex near Marikana. As part of my research, I lived in a mine residence and worked with mineworkers underground. When the Marikana massacre happened in August 2012 I was living in Rustenburg, about 40 kilometres northwest of Marikana. As some of my co-workers were personally affected and their siblings missing and others injured during the massacre, I started visiting the area and working with the women in Marikana.
2 For a detailed map and notes on the geography of Marikana, see Alexander et al. (Citation2012, ix–xiv).
3 The ‘Farlam Commission’ refers to the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, which was appointed by the African National Congress (ANC) government in the aftermath of the massacre, and led by retired judge Ian Farlam. As will be seen below, the Commission originally held its hearings in Rustenburg, but these were later moved to Centurion in Pretoria. Not without good reason, the wives and mistresses of the slain and injured mineworkers believed the Commission would deliver justice not only in the form of legal and political accountability, but also material compensation for the families of its victims. They attended the hearings religiously, but ultimately would be disappointed. For its part, ‘asijiki’ became the slogan of the Economic Freedom Fighters, the new radical political party that emerged in opposition to the ANC in 2013, and took up the cause of the Marikana miners and their families.
4 Social and Labour Plans are a requisite condition of the new mine licensing system defined by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002.
5 Informal settlements have been on the rise in mining towns and a key contributing factor has been the ‘living-out allowance’, a small pay increment for mineworkers who choose to find their own accommodation instead of using the mine hostels. On this and the other settlement types emerging around Rustenburg, see Bezuidenhout and Buhlungu (Citation2011); Bezuidenhout and Buhlungu in this issue; and also Ashman and Fine (Citation2013). A detailed report on the state on informal settlements in Rustenburg can be found at HDA (2012). See also HDA (Citation2012) and Mail & Guardian (Citation2013) for a full report on conditions in Marikana and the report on lack of water.
6 For an overview of the historic relationship between tribal land ownership and the appropriation of mineral revenues by traditional authorities in the Rustenburg region, see Capps and Mnwana in this issue. As with neighbouring chieftaincies, the Bapo-ba-Mogale traditional authority has recently signed a deal with Lonmin to convert its royalty stream into a direct equity stake. However, not all locals are benefiting from these arrangements and there have been several cases against traditional leaderships in the region (including the Bapo-ba-Mogale) who misuse mineral revenues and neglect their ‘subjects’. Some have been accused of corruption and not servicing communities, instead using their power and the wealth for self-enrichment. See, for example, Claassens (Citation2012), a case also discussed further by Capps and Mnwana in this issue.
7 The Madibeng municipality was in the news in January 2014 for lack of water provision to communities within their jurisdiction. See Mail & Guardian (Citation2014) and also refer to Mail & Guardian (2013) for a full report on conditions in Marikana and the report on lack of water.
8 Malema is the Commander in Chief of a new rival political party. Workers and community members alike are drawn to him, saying he was the first to visit Marikana after the massacre and give support to the workers, families of the slain workers and the community at large. He has been very active in Marikana since the massacre of 16 August 2012 and a number of community members who were once ANC supporters are now supporting Malema's newly formed party, the Economic Freedom Fighters.
9 According to the South African Social Security Agency, the child support grant is given to primary care-givers of children younger than 18 when parents are earning less than R34,800 for single parents and a combined income of 69,600 for a married couple.
10 A stokvel is a community saving scheme where members contribute an agreed amount, and either receive a lump sum at the end of the year or a payment that rotates between members monthly. To increase their returns members are usually encouraged to borrow money from the stokvel and return it with interest. It is up to the individual member what they do with the money: they can either loan it out or use it in their households and return it when it is wanted by the group, at a reasonable interest rate. At the end of the year or in time of need like prolonged strikes, the money is split up and members receive their share. This is repeated every year and women reported that it is their saving grace when times are tough.
11 For a complementary account of women who were involved in the platinum strike as workers in their own right, see Ntswana's Briefing in this issue.
12 For detailed discussions of the ‘affordability’ of the R12,500 living wage demand, and the producer narratives around it during the strike, see the Briefings of both Bowman and Isaacs, and Forslund in this issue.
13 On the day of the massacre and in its immediate aftermath, 270 strikers were arrested and detained at police stations around Rustenburg, where a number were tortured. All were then charged with the murder of their 34 colleagues, under the apartheid-era ‘common purpose' doctrine.
14 See Hlongwane (Citation2012).
15 Even those who worked night shifts had at least been able to attend during the day when the Commission was in Rustenburg.