Black spaces: the Group Areas Act, the material boundaries of life and grievability

Abstract

My doel in hierdie tesis is om maniere te ontleed waarop die Groepsgebiedewet van 1950 en apartheid se ruimtelike beplanning in die breë sin nie net gemoeid was met wie toegang tot sosio-ekonomiese regte gehad het nie, maar ook met die besluit oor watter lewens waardevol was, wat dus betreurenswaardig is. Die ruimtelike uitdrukking van (post)apartheid se Suid-Afrikaanse lewe is ongetwyfeld volgens ras, geslag en klas verdeeld. Die sentrale tema van hierdie navorsingsprojek is om apartheid se geografie krities te benader deur die lens van Judith Butler se idee van “grievability” (betreurenswaardigheid), soos voorgehou in Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence and Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? sowel as Giorgio Agamben se “bare life” soos voorgehou in Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, om ʼn begrip van ruimtelike ongeregtigheid te ondersoek wat ingelig word deur die (re)produksie van uitsluitingsbegrippe van ʼn normatiewe mens, diegene wat buite dit val of uitgesluit word, kan nie in die openbaar betreur word nie. Een van die hoofargumente in hierdie projek is dat ruimtelike geregtigheid verder strek as die geografiese rangskikkings van die materiële wêreld en sluit die erkenning en herstel van menslikheid en waardigheid in. Hierdie tesis ondersoek hoe sosiale merkers ʼn impak het op die maniere waarop sekere mense ruimte kan navigeer en die gevolge daarvan om nie in sekere ruimtes te behoort nie. As ʼn navorsingsprojek wat gegrond is op kritiese rasseteorie, feministiese teorie, queer-teorie, klasanalise en gestremdheidsregte, dwing hierdie tesis my om te dink oor ruimte en hoe ons ruimte as gemarginaliseerde mense in (post)apartheid Suid-Afrika bewoon. Ek wend my tot swart feministiese geografiese denke vir ʼn gegronde verkenning van maniere om ruimtelike geregtigheid te behaal en ʼn kritiese ras-ruimtelike ontleding van die voortbestaan van apartheid se geografie uit te voer. Sleutelterme: Groepsgebiedewet, ruimtelike geregtigheid, swart geografie, feministiese geografie, apartheid se geografie

My aim in this thesis is to unpack the ways in which the Group Areas Act of 1950 and apartheid spatial planning more broadly was not only concerned with who had access to socio-economic rights but also with deciding which lives were valuable and thus grievable. The spatial expression of (post)apartheid South African life is undoubtedly racialised, gendered and classed.

The central theme of this research project is to critically engage apartheid geography through the lens of Judith Butler’s notion of “grievability” as put forward in 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘳: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦? as well as Giorgio Agamben’s “bare life” as put forward in 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘳: 𝘚𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 to explore an understanding of spatial injustice that is informed by the (re)production of exclusionary conceptions of a normative human those falling outside of which cannot be mourned publicly. One of the main arguments in this project is that spatial justice extends beyond the geographic arrangements of the material realm into the recognition and restoration of humanity and dignity.

This thesis examines how social markers impact the ways in which certain people can navigate space and the results of not belonging in certain spaces. As a research project grounded in critical race theory, feminist theory, queer theory, class analysis and disability rights, this thesis pushes me to think about space and how we inhabit space as marginalised people in (post)apartheid South Africa. I turn to black feminist geographic thought for a grounded exploration of pathways to achieving spatial justice and conducting a critical race spatial analysis of the endurance of apartheid geography. ___________________________________________________________________

Inhloso yalo mqulu ukuveza izindlela zomthetho wokwehlukanisa abantu ngokohlanga ngezindawo zokuhlala, i-Group Areas Act yonyaka we-1950 kanye nohlelo lwendawo yokuhlala ngesikhathi sobandlululo ngokubanzi kwalo kwakungaqondene kuphela nokuthi ubani onelungelo lomnotho kanye nenhlalo engcono, kodwa kwakusho futhi ukunquma ukuthi ezobani izimpilo ezibalulekile nokumele zinakekelwe. Ukuvezwa kobandlululo kwezindawo zesikhathi esingemumva esesadlula sempilo yaseNingizimu Afrikha akungabazeki ukuthi yayencike ebuhlangeni, ebulilini, kanye nasemazingeni omnotho. Ingqikithi okuyinayona yalo msebenzi wocwaningo ukuhlolisisa ngokunzulu umhlaba wesikhathi sobandlululo ngendlela yokubuka kokuvezwa nguJudith Butler kokudabukela njengoba kubekwe phambili kwi-Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence and Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? kanye kanye ne-“bare life” kaGiorgio Agamben njengoba kubekwe phambili kwi-Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life ukuphenya ukuqonda kokungabi nabulungiswa kwezindawo okuvezwa ukukhiqiza okuphindaphindekile kokuqonda kokubandlululeka komuntu okuvamile eziwela ngaphandle kulokho okungeke kukhalelwe esidlangalaleni. Omunye wemiqakuliswano enqala kulo msebenzi ukuthi ubulungiswa bezindawo zokuhlala budlulela nangale kokuhleleka kwezindawo zokuhlala esimweni sezinto ezibonakalayo kuze kungene ekukhombekeni kanye nokubuyiselwa kwesimo sobuntu kanye nesithunzi. Lo mqingo uhlola ukuthi izimpawu zomphakathi zinamthelela muni ezindleleni lapho abantu abathile bengazama ukungena endaweni kanye nemiphumela yokungakwazi ukuba ingxenye yezinye izindawo. Njengoba lo msebenzi wocwaningo wesekelwe enjulalwazini yokuhlolisisa ubuhlanga, injulalwazi yefeminizimu, injulalwazi yobulili obushintshiwe noma obuguqukuliwe, ukuhlaziya ngokwamazinga omnotho kanye namalungelo abantu abakhubazekile, lo mqingo ungiholela ekucabangeni mayelana nendawo kanye nokuthi sihlala kanjani ezindaweni njengabantu abacwasiwe esikhathini sasemumva kobandlululo eNingizimu Afrikha. Ngibuyela emcabangweni wezindawo zokuhlala ngendlela yabesifazane ngokusekelwa kwezinqubo esihlolayo ukufinyelela ebulungisweni bezindwo zokuhlala kanye nokwenza uhlaziyo lokuhlukaniswa ngokobuhlanga okunzulu okuholela sekuzinzeni kwezomhlaba ngesikhathi sobandlululo.

Sepheo sa mofuputsi ka diphuputso tsena ke ho bontsha kamoo Molao wa Group Areas Act wa 1950 mmoho le kamoo moralo wa lefatshe wa kgethollo e neng e se feela hore na ke mang ya nang le ditokelo tsa bophelomoruong, empa e le hore na ke bophelo ba bomang boo e leng ba bohlokwa ho feta ba ba bang, mme ka hona bo ka llelwa. Ha ho na qeaqeo hore boahi mona Afrika Borwa esita le kamora kgethollo, bo ntse bo kgetholla ho ya ka merabe, bong, esita le ka maemo. Boikemisetso bo boholo ba mosebetsi ona wa diphuputso ke ho tadimana ka botebo le boahi ho ya ka tikoloho ya kgethollo ka leihlo la Judith Butler la “dillo” jwaloka ha a e hlalosa sengolweng sena Precariuos Life:The Powers of Mourning and Violence and Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Hammoho le “bare life” ya Giorgio Agamben ha a hlalosa ho Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Mona o hlalosa kutlwisiso ya ho hloka toka ha ho kgethollwa sebaka, e le se bakwang ke kgopolo ya ho se lekane ha batho, ebile ho na le ba ke keng ba llelwa hara batho. Se seng sa sepheo sa mosebetsi ona ke ho bontsha hore tokelo ya sebaka e feta ditlhophiso tsa hore ho dulwa kae, ke mang. E kenyeletsa tlhompho ya botho esita le sona seriti sa botho. Thuto ena e hlahloba tsela eo matshwao a moo batho ba phelang e amang batho ba bang ka teng; e le hore ba be ba bone ba sa lokelwa ke dibaka tse itseng. Jwaloka diphuputso tse itshetlehileng haholo hodima mehopolo ya merabe, bosadi, baratani ba bong bo le bong, maemo le ba nang le ditlhoko tse ikgethang bophelong. Thuto ena e hopotsa mofuputsi monahano wa sebaka le hore batho ba phela jwang ho sona, e le batho ba kgethollwang kapa ba shebelwang tlase ho ya ka Afrika Borwa e fetileng ya kgethollo. Mofuputsi o tadima sebaka seo motshehetsi wa bosadi a se nahanang, e le hore a fumane toka ya sebaka seo a se batlang kapa a se ratang; esita le ho hlahloba ka botebo taba ena ya sebaka ka merabe le mamello ya kgethollo ya thuto ya tikoloho.