South Africa After Mandela

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Zine Magubane
Boston College

Date: March 19, 2014

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Abstract

Following the death of former president Nelson Mandela, South Africa must look ahead to a political and social future without Madiba's calming and unifying presence. As the May 7 national election looms amidst continuing social strife, the African National Congress seeks to solidify its position as the leading party in the face of strengthening opposition from the Democratic Alliance. Professor Zine Magubane, a South African native and internationally recognized scholar of her home country鈥檚 culture and politics, will discuss the challenges South Africa faces in the wake of its national hero's death.

This event continues a conversation begun at our December screening of听Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom听at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Speaker Bio

Zine Magubane

Zine Magubane听is an associate professor of sociology at Boston College, where she also holds a courtesy appointment in the African and African Diaspora studies program. Professor Magubane specializes in social theory and the sociology of race, ethnicity, and African societies. She has professional experience in South Africa, previously serving as a research associate for the Human Sciences Research Council in Pretoria, and holding a guest lecturer position at the University of Cape Town. The author of several books and scholarly articles in her discipline, she has notably published听Bringing the Empire Home: Race, Class and Gender听(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004). She earned her Ph.D and M.A. in Sociology from Harvard University, and her B.A. in Politics from Princeton University.

Event Photos

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Boston College Sociology Professor Zine Magubane at the Boisi Center

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Photos by MTS Photography

Event Recap

On March 19, 情色空间 sociology professor Zine Magubane, a native of South Africa, spoke at the Boisi Center about her home country鈥檚 contemporary challenges. The luncheon continued a conversation began at the Boisi Center鈥檚 advanced screening of the biopic 鈥淢andela: Long Walk to Freedom鈥 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in early December, coincidentally on the very day Nelson Mandela died.

Magubane explained that South Africa鈥檚 most pressing issues concern the relationship of sexual equality, gender equality, religion, traditional culture, and public life. South Africa鈥檚 constitution seeks to protect both human rights and the rights of traditional culture鈥攇oals that sometimes conflict. Women鈥檚 rights are protected, for example, as are the rights of gays and lesbians. (In fact,South Africa legalized same-sex marriage before the United States did.) Yet in the name of traditional culture, these rights are being undermined. The practice of ukuthwala is a poignant example: what had been a rite of marriage negotiated between families has become a practice of kidnapping young girls and marrying them to adult men. Similarly, the widespread sexual violence against women and the 鈥渃orrective rape鈥 of lesbians (of which President Zuma has himself been accused) undermines the law鈥檚 efforts.

South Africa is in a position to act as a leader on these issues in Africa, where human rights are increasingly being trampled in the name of culture. Uganda recently declared homosexuality illegal; Senegal and Nigeria are contemplating similar steps. Traditionalists argue thatefforts to protect women and sexual minorities are impositions of Western values, but many South Africans have stood up for these protections鈥攔ural women who organize against the absolute rule of the traditional leadership councils, for example鈥攁nd there is the hope that these voices will win out in the next decade.

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Further Reading

Alan Cowell. "."听New York Times. February 3, 2014.

B情色空间. "."听B情色空间 News. December 5, 2013.

Douglas Foster.听. New York, New York: Liveright Publishing, 2012.

Hansi Lo Wang. "" National Public Radio. December 6, 2013.

Nancy Clark and William Worger.听. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2011.

Nelson Mandela.听. Randburg, South Africa: Macdonald Purnell, 1995.

Nelson Mandela.听 "." African National Congress. February 10, 2014.

Steven Mufson and Raghavan Sudarsan. "."听Washington Post.听 January 2, 2014.

Zine Magubane. "." Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs. December 6, 2013.

"." Nelson Mandela Foundation. December 5, 2013.

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