Sindiwe Magona and Community Life: South African Solidarity in Forced to Grow and When the village sleeps
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_misc/mj.202510908Keywords:
solidarity, community, Magona, South AfricaAbstract
South Africa has been trying to transmit the idea of unity among communities since the abolition of apartheid; however, Steven L. Gordon’s study on Pan- African solidarity (2023) signals the worrying levels of interracial antagonism in the rainbow nation. From a postcolonial perspective, this article delves into two books by South African writer Sindiwe Magona: the second part of her autobiography, Forced to Grow (1992), and the novel When the Village Sleeps (2021). Under the concept of solidarity among communities, studied by Edith Stein, among others, this article will analyse both books and their reflection of the social and religious movements in South Africa in the decades they were published —the years prior to the abolition of apartheid and the early 2020s— to identify Magona’s struggle against the oppression of apartheid and its consequences in the following decades. My contention is that Magona’s role within her community evolves into a political and social role and, hence, her writings become a tool to foster social support and union among communities.
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