Reclaiming Space: African Women's Use of the Media As a Platform to Contest Patriarchal Representations of African Culture--Womanists' Perspectives (Report‪)‬

Abstract In 2005, the Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC), Jacob Zuma, was charged with raping his late comrade's daughter. Outside the court, his supporters carried placards and screamed 'Burn the bitch'. Inside the court, Zuma's legal team cross-examined the rape complainant on her sexual history. In 2006, former ANC Parliamentary Chief Whip, Mbulelelo Goniwe, reportedly asked a 21-year-old administrative assistant, who had been requested to help prepare meals at Goniwe's birthday party, to stay after the event to provide sexual favours at Goniwe's home. When she refused, Goniwe reportedly said that he thought she was 'a real Xhosa girl' and asked her how she could resist the advances of her chief whip. Media coverage of these incidents put issues of culture and gender at the centre of attention. While debates on African culture in the media are nothing new, what was strikingly unique about these two particular cases was the emergence of strong African women's voices, in a space traditionally dominated by African men. This article seeks to examine how the entrance of women into traditionally male-dominated media spaces made a difference in terms of enlightening and educating media consumers about African culture.