5. THERE IS NO CHANGE IN MARIKANA: THE PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN

Asanda Benya and Judy Seidman

There is no change in Marikana. [...] The people are living in shacks that are leaking, there is no sanitation, no running water, no electricity. And there are no roads. Where is the better life for all?

– Thumeka Magwangqana at the General Assembly, Berlin, 4 November 2017. 1

When women living in the shadow of platinum mines today say that there is no change in their lives, we must question the narrative that South Africa’s mining sector has moved from apartheid into an era of democracy and human decency. This chapter explores the lives of women affected by platinum mining in South Africa, stories that have been ignored and silenced in understanding the mining industry today.