THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER. RACE AND CLASS: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND SPATIAL IMPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION IN THE FORMER HOMELANDS OF SOUTH AFRICA

ABSTRACT

One of the greatest challenges facing a transforming South Africa is the effective integration of the former homelands into the social, economic and political fabric of the rest of the country. In recent years, increasing policies and programmes are aimed at addressing the challenges faced by rural communities located in the former homelands. However, as many studies cited in this article suggest, limited knowledge and understanding of rural communities in the former homelands persist. A fundamental issue that tends to be neglected is that pertaining to gender concerns related to social differentiation within these communities. By drawing on fieldwork conducted in the former homelands of Kwazulu and Lebowa as well as secondary sources; this article examines the links between class, gender and race. More specifically, it explores the various impacts that these associations have on social differentiation amongst poor rural women in South Africa's former homelands.