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To respond to the global crisis caused by climate change, South Africa is embarking on a Just Transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. The transition is premised on a decarbonisation process undertaken through a Just Energy Transition (JET). At the core of this study lies the following question: what are the opportunities and challenges for coal communities in a Just Transition?

This study focuses on selected texts of South African female writer, Sindiwe Magona. The selected texts are To My Children’s Children (1990), Forced to Grow (1992), Beauty’s Gift (2012), Mother to Mother (1998), Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night (1991) and When The Village Sleeps (2021). The study explores how Magona narrates the contestation of power and self-definition, delving into how she articulates the intersections of race, power, gender and class in the selected texts.

There is limited scholarly attention on the ANC land policy from 1955 to 2017 and how the ANC land policy shifts coupled with lack of commitment exacerbated Black landlessness. In addition, there is dearth of scholarship on how the slow pace of the ANC land reform programme affects the marginalised groups such as the Khoisan, women, youth and the poor Black majority. Using the voices of the marginalised people and the available secondary sources, this study sought to fill in this identified gap.

GBV has become an epidemic in Southern Africa. With a growing body of research and policies centred on GBV, the phenomenon is largely understood from the male-inflicting-harm-on-female standpoint. Consider the following quotes regarding the importance ascribed to traditional (read hegemonic) meanings associated with masculinity in African culture: “Mudi wa gwoswi a una malila” (Translated from Tshivenda it means “the house of a weak man does not stand”) (Thobejane et al., 2018).

Environmental education is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem-solving and take action to improve the environment. As a result, individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions through environmental education. Therefore, environmental education is an important aspect of the school curriculum as it is embedded in the school’s curriculum of other subjects.

Although South Africa has factored the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community into its constitution, this does not necessarily guarantee that those who engage in same-sex relationships enjoy these rights in practice. South African lesbian sexuality is often suppressed and silenced. This is partly due to the fact that discourses position people in power relations. Dominant sexuality discourses in Africa privilege Black African heterosexuals.