Mining in focus
A female loco driver at Tau Lekoa Mine on the West Rand.
low-skilled underground jobs mostly for
black men. The Mineral and Petroleum
Resources Development Act of 2002
(MPRDA) and the Mining Charter
aimed to redress this historic disparity.
Chamber of Mines data show that
women in mining grew from 11 400
in 2002 to 57 800 in 2015/2016. The
current 13% female representation
exceeds Mining Charter targets.
According to Benya, 2 098 female
workers are currently physically working
in South African mines. Of the 2 098,
15 white and 246 black women are
employed on the surface in opencast
mines, while no white female workers
are employed underground. In contrast,
1 837 black women have decided to earn
their living by working below the surface.
“The entrance of women into South
African mines from 2004, and their
appointment into positions previously
exclusively reserved for men, is a
significant challenge and a disruption
to masculine subjectivities and the
occupational culture,” writes Benya.
This article explores some of the
challenges that are based on Benya’s
[20] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2018
findings, which formalises four
female mining identities: mafazi,
moneymakers, real mafazi, and
madoda straight (see the textbox).
In the danger zone
The challenges faced by women in
underground mines cannot be explored
without looking at the physical
difficulties and safety risks involved.
For ethical clearance as researcher,
Benya had to obtain cover for death,
disability, and medical expenses. “I was
soon reminded of the indiscriminate
ways in which rocks fall, winch
ropes snap, or scrapers mistakenly
scooping out people alive.”
Rockfall does not discriminate
against gender, as Benya points out,
but women face additional threats
to their safety and well-being. She
states that a number of women were
raped and killed underground at
other mines during her fieldwork.
She has been a victim of sexual
harassment herself, but states that
“While I witnessed and experienced
sexual harassment often, it was never
threatening to the point where I
feared I would be raped or killed.”
Although sexual harassment remains
a rife challenge, she highlights that it is
often not understood within traditional
definitions. “Sometimes what I thought
was sexual harassment was not seen that
way by the women it was directed at.”
Similar to the dilemma of female
soldiers, responding and speaking out
against harassment has consequences:
saying nothing perpetuates the abuse;
speaking out leads to being picked on
and hostility. Women often respond
by ignoring it and keeping quiet.
Underground bodies
The mining sector upholds the male
body shape — strong, robust, muscular
— as the normalised standard. Benya
devotes a substantial portion of her
research to this embodiment.
In the interviews, women describe how
their bodies change and how PPE further
adds to this process. “Workers reported
that once they wear the PPE, they stop
being themselves — they become ‘alert’,
‘rough’, and ‘don’t care’,” writes Benya.