Embodied spatiality: mapping gendered exclusion and women’s embodied right to the city in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Abstract

This study addresses the critical research inquiry surrounding the persistence of gendered urban inequalities and the subsequent exclusion of women in urban settings within the broader context of gender, spatiality, and embodiment. Using feminist geographical theory and informed by Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the right to the city, the study investigates how the spatial characteristics of public spaces, along with underlying gendered dynamics, engender discriminatory and exclusionary practices that restrict women’s right to the city and public lived space. The study collected data through a questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and a mapping exercise utilising open-access Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. The participants were 166 individuals from the historically racially segregated areas of Umlazi, Chatsworth, and Durban Central in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings reveal women’s negative experiences and perceptions of the risk of victimisation, which stem from a form of ‘self-imposed exclusion’ from public spaces, thereby limiting their overall right to the city. The study also highlights the intersecting hierarchies of race, gender, age, and nationality that (re)produce intersectional exclusions, contributing to multiple barriers to access. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that women’s exclusion from public spaces and their limited rights to the city results from a complex interplay between embodied ‘self-imposed’ exclusions, intersectional dynamics, and spatial constraints, which collectively infringe their embodied right to the city.

Keywords:

• Gender
• spatiality
• right to the city
• urban inequality
• embodiment

Disclosure statement

The authors reported no potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding and support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Tariro Mukwidigwi

Tariro Mukwidigwi holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of KwaZulu Natal. Her research interests and focus lie in gender, women’s sexuality, maternal care practices, women’s rights, and equality. She also focuses on gender-based violence and spatial justice issues across diverse social spaces. She currently works as a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, Social and Behavioral Sciences at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Zimbabwe.

Maheshvari Naidu

Maheshvari Naidu is a full professor of Social Anthropology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her research interests include gender, body politics, religion, ritual, and power. She is currently involved in interdisciplinary collaborations that contribute to social cohesion and focus on South African socio-cultural realities.