Feminist spatial justice: Women’s informal trader movements are re-imagining the city

Abstract

Colonialism attempted to systematically erase black women and labour from the city imaginary. Under apartheid, this was enforced primarily through the Group Areas Act; now, in post-apartheid South Africa, women street traders have emerged as the largest group of informal traders in the Global South, yet the economy positions them as marginal to the formal labour system. As a result, exclusionary and systemic violence is inflicted upon them by the state. The Constitution of South Africa, 1996, along with the Businesses Act 51 of 1993, presents an opportunity to protect the legitimacy of these traders’ struggles for survival.
This article seeks to answer the question: How could women street trader organisations be used to advocate for the inclusion of women street traders in South African city imaginaries? The article draws on decolonial feminist theory to address this question. It first interrogates oppressive ideals concerning the use of urban space and examines how this impacts on women street traders. Additionally, it emphasises the insights of women street traders, insights shaped by their lived experiences within the city. This article recognises that women street traders are already organising, on the basis of case law and other avenues, to resist oppressive urban ideals. Furthermore, it acknowledges their use of decolonial-feminist organising as a way to assert their agency and human dignity. The article concludes by calling for a stronger movement to empower women street traders politically and economically, emphasising the need for inclusive city imaginaries that recognise and celebrate their contribution to the urban landscape. Through collective action and advocacy, the potential exists to create spatially just cities that uplift the dignity and rights of women street traders in South Africa.