Experiencing education as misrecognised “Coloured” women in South Africa

Abstract

Much has been written about the oppression suffered by marginalised groups in South Africa. From the literature, we can gain some sense of what it means to be relegated to racial boxes. We can also theorise about the harms of racism and their lasting effects on individuals and society. However, what does it mean for the individual to carry a label when they neither understand it nor want it? How do individuals internalise the prescribed assignments of racial identities? Through this article, we take you into the lives of six women labelled as ‘coloured’. We share stories of their determination to excel from when they were at school in apartheid to higher education post-apartheid. While poignant and brave, their stories expose the rawness of being seen as a colour before being seen as a human. In making sense of their stories, we turn to conceptions of misrecognition to reshape identities without the baggage of racism.