The Feminization of Poverty in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The adoption of neoliberal economic policies by South Africa as it entered into its democratic era, resulted in thousands, if not millions, of poor South Africans plummeting deeper into poverty. The same people who found themselves poor under apartheid, found themselves caught in a cycle of poverty that seemed to be worsening in democratic South Africa. With the privatization of basic services, many South Africans have found that they have no access to water, electricity, or health care and that they are now being evicted from their homes. This article tells the story of an urban community in South Africa which is home to one of the community organizations, the Bayview Flat Residents Association, that gave rise to the first wave of community struggles against evictions in post-apartheid South Africa. This community struggle and the Bayview Flat Residents Association, have been led by poor, black, urban women who continue to bear the burdern of poverty.