Women’s narratives of everyday precarity in the Mangaung township (Bloemfontein, South Africa)

English: Twenty years into South Africa’s new dispensation, poverty and unemployment remain a reality. Perpetuated by poor service delivery, the limited economic opportunities continue to disproportionately affect and marginalise the lower socioeconomic classes and those areas where they reside. “Black” African women, in particular those with minimal schooling (unskilled and semi-skilled), suffer most from these social illsand yet many are able to survive under precarious living conditions. The majority of “Black” African women are characterised by oppression, discrimination and exploitation, especially those who are unskilled and semi-skilled and who also had limited educational opportunities. In addition, these women inherit the weakened family structures created and caused to a great extent by years of apartheid rule where the presence and contributions of male members were slowly eroded by the migrant labour system and the creation of artificial areas where “Black” Africans had to reside and where a variety of laws undermined the development of the “Black” African population. Up until today, most “Black” African women are completely unemployed and many are dependent on social grants and informal employment or hand-outs to secure a living. Most of these women find themselves fulfilling multiple roles of both the “breadwinner” and “managers” of their households given the absence of their children’s fathers in their lives. Using a narrative inquiry, this research report delves into the precarious life-worlds of African women from the Mangaung township in Bloemfontein. It explores how these womensurvive with their limited and erratic sources of income which is often not sufficient to sustain all the dependents. It further demonstrates how these women cope and manage the sometimes strenuous and challenging execution of multiple roles. Through their narratives of everyday life experiences, the philosophy of Ubuntu/Botho, and its value and importance is brought to the fore. Their ability to cope and survive in their unpredictable and insecure reality is through the reciprocal help from individuals who form part of their social support. Hope and faith resonate in the lives of these women as they continue to aspire and dream of their escape and that of their children from this precarious reality. Similarly doubt and fear of the unknown lingers on. Death and deprivation are constant realities of this precarious living.