The representation of women in Njabulo Ndebele’s The Cry of Winnie Mandela and Lauretta Ngcobo’s And They Didn’t Die: an African Feminist Perspective

This study seeks to interrogate the presentation of women in selected South African texts written by a male and female South African author, whose central thematic thrust is the role of women in their day-to-day struggles during the apartheid era. An in-depth analysis of the texts enables this dissertation to provide a comparative study of the representation of women in both texts. The study also examines the kinds of fictional representations that are found in the texts and their significance in the emancipation journey of women from the supremacy of apartheid and customary laws. This study is informed by African feminism, focusing on the stance of Obioma Nnaemeka and Molara Ogundipe-Leslie. African feminism is chosen as a framework for exploring the texts because it is a theory shaped by the resistance of African women against Western rule. The theory embraces debates about motherhood and the contestation about the roles of motherhood in a society. The theory ponders how motherhood is a source of empowerment, liberation and achievement in African societies. The theory affirms that women should equip themselves for effective resistance and participation in societal transformation. These two theorists are relevant because they are both committed to a critical investigation that seeks to differentiate present social conditions and their historical development. Their research examines the conceptualization of frameworks aimed at a social and cultural change grounded on the local and everyday experiences of women. The first chapter provides a broad overview of the study. This chapter highlights the significance of the study in terms of what it can contribute to scholarship on the representation of women in South African texts that reflect on the apartheid era, by analysing them through the lens of African feminism. The second chapter provides context to the critical reception of both novels, which outlines the focus of the research. This chapter also provides the theoretical framework, which provides an overview of the relevant theory on African Feminism that informs the study and highlights Nnaemeka and Ogundipe-Leslie’s concepts of ‘Nego-Feminism’ and ‘Stiwanism’. The third chapter focuses on analysing the portrayal of women in the texts, examining their interactions with one another, with men, and the subjugation they endure because of living in a patriarchal society. The fourth chapter provides a comparative study of the texts. Finally, the last chapter provides a conclusion, analysing the research findings. The study thus brings to the fore the similarities and differences in the representation of women in South African texts that were written in different decades by a male and female writer, that are nevertheless highlighting the same issues. Secondly, in exploring how women in the texts challenge the status quo, this research will hopefully expose how women are not constantly compliant and embracing marginalization as some texts present them but can be seen as having emancipative agency. The study, in particular, provides an analysis of the representation of women in the two novels, specifically, intending to compare and contrast the modalities of their representation in these works.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 202