Lecturer Dr Chantal Christopher was awarded a doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy during UKZN’s Spring Graduation ceremony.
The title of Christopher’s thesis was: (Un)becoming Re-creation – Exploring “Coloured” Women’s Suffocation and Rejuvenation within a KwaZulu-Natal Township: A Critical Feminist Ethnography.
In her research, supervised by Professor Robin Joubert and Professor Mershen Pillay, Christopher explored the lived experiences of Coloured women in the Mariannridge township near Durban, using critical feminist ethnography to address issues of social justice. The study provided a platform for these women, who served as co-researchers, to share and reflect on their life experiences through dialogue, ultimately creating a collaborative space for personal and collective meaning-making.
The study shed light on the matrix of oppression faced by these women, revealing how their marginalised identities and daily struggles became powerful forms of resistance, counterintuitively granting them a sense of agency and belonging. By reflecting on and reframing their experiences through group work, these women were able to reconcile with the realities of their lives within the South African socio-political context.
Christopher’s work holds great significance in envisioning therapy interventions that go beyond traditional approaches. Her concept of “un-becoming” focuses on peeling back the layers of sanctioned and non-sanctioned occupations that shape individuals’ lives, allowing women to reconcile with their identities and experiences in a deeply humanising process. This community-based feminist approach offers a model for more authentic therapeutic interventions that can reach women across South Africa in their specific contexts.
Her use of emancipatory methods within the framework of critical feminist ethnography aims to promote more egalitarian research processes. As both a passionate researcher and an avid gardener, Christopher plans to spend contemplative Sundays among her plants, reflecting on the path forward for her work and its potential impact on therapy practices for marginalised women.
Christopher’s research is a vital contribution in the understanding of lived experiences of Coloured women in South Africa and advancing socially just occupational therapy interventions.
Words: Nombuso Dlamini
Photograph: Supplied