The Power of Walking: Feminist Perspectives on Collective Night Walking Practices in Cape Town and Beyond

Abstract

Female Fear, a poignant reflection of patriarchal structures, profoundly shapes women’s everyday experiences in the urban landscape of Cape Town, South Africa. While there is increasing acknowledgment of the pandemic scale of gender-based violence, addressing individual cases represents only a limited perspective on this complex issue. Thus, strategies are needed to challenge its normalization. Inspired by an initiative in Delhi, India, the movement Women Walk at Midnight emerged in Cape Town as a platform for women to reclaim urban spaces. In this study, I will move beyond questions of vulnerability to and fear of gender-based violence, aiming to deepen the understanding of collective night walking practices as a resistance response. For this purpose, I will explore how women perceive the intention and impact of the initiative Women Walk at Midnight in Cape Town. Grounded in street ethnography and participatory research methods, including go-along, participant observation, interviews, and focus groups with participating women in the movement, I delve into their perceptions of the inherent necessity of the initiative and their lived experiences within it. Simultaneously, I examine how the movement reflects structural marginalization in the socially and spatially segregated fabric of Cape Town. Employing a decolonial lens, I intertwine participants’ experiences with intersectional feminist theory and Gqola’s concept of the female fear factory. Utilizing transnational feminist theory and practice, I explore empowerment beyond borders (Mohanty 2003). By illuminating multifaceted experiences and the transformative potential of participatory interventions, this research unveils new possibilities for reimagining and reshaping urban female realities.