Browsing by Author "Seedat, Fatima"

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    An investigation into South Africans performing online erotic labour, experiences of their labour and their experiences and negotiations of stigmatisation
    (2025) Megannon, Tegwyn; Seedat, Fatima
    The lived experiences of online erotic labourers, in South Africa, is investigated in this dissertation. To investigate the experiences of digital labour and stigma, five South Africans who have performed erotic labour participated in semi-structured interviews. A qualitative research design, grounded in critical theory, was used to develop a rich understanding of online erotic labour. Sex work and erotic labour has been conceptualised through a sex work inclusionary feminist academic lens and analysis was done using reflexive thematic analysis technique. Findings revealed that experiences of erotic labour are significantly influenced by the type of digital platform used to sell labour. These experiences were found to be located within the broader context of platform mediated gig work, and I investigated how platform capitalism affects workers' experiences of precarity. Congruent with other non- stigmatised gig workers, findings show that performing online erotic labour is subject to general forms of income insecurity and economic liability. However, the stigmatised nature of erotic labour creates a unique kind of precarity that is not endemic to all forms of platform mediated gig work. The findings detail how this stigma is navigated and how my participants create positive meanings in their lives related to their erotic labour.
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    Between sunnah and selfhood: exploring how South African Muslim men navigate sexuality and morality in the Mundane
    (2026) Bray, Aqeelah; Seedat, Fatima; Shaikh, Sa'diyya
    This dissertation strives to explore the diverse ways in which South African Muslim men navigate the intersection of faith, culture, sexuality and morality in their everyday lives. It is situated within a broader context shaped by Islamic teachings, cultural norms, individual agency, and the evolving gender dynamics of a globalised South African society. In doing so, the research addresses a significant gap in feminist scholarship, where Muslim men's perspectives on sexuality remain underexplored. The theoretical framework guiding this study is a multidimensional feminist one, drawing on feminist standpoint theory, Islamic feminism, and feminist embodiment. Together, these frameworks allow for an analysis that is both critical and empathetic. This study used qualitative feminist methodologies, specifically semi-structured interviews, to gather rich, in-depth narratives. A purposive and snowball sampling approach was used to recruit eleven participants - South African Muslim men who were born in, raised, and currently reside in South Africa. Given the sensitivity of the topic, trust and community networks were central to gaining access. The data were analysed thematically, with attention to the ways in which participants articulate and navigate their understandings of sexuality, faith and morality. The findings reveal that participants continuously grapple with the tensions between religious prescriptions and personal experience. The narratives illustrate the varied strategies employed by participants to reconcile faith with desire, ranging from reinterpretations of the Sunnah to the construction of private, alternative spiritual practices. Queer participants offered critical insights into how non-normative sexual identities are negotiated within a framework of Islamic ethics. Across the sample, there was a clear call for open, inclusive discourse around sex and sexuality within Muslim communities, as well as a reimagining of religious teachings that foreground dignity, justice, and human flourishing. Ultimately, this research contributes to broader conversations on gender justice, Islamic ethics, and sexuality in the South African context. It offers a textured account of Muslim men's lived realities that challenges dominant narratives of Islamic masculinity as inherently patriarchal or regressive. In doing so, it highlights the potential for transformative interpretations of Islamic principles that are more inclusive and responsive to contemporary lived experiences.
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    Playing with power & possibility: Exploring the ways in which gameplaying can be used as a decolonial feminist tool in the African Feminist Studies (AFS) classroom
    (2025) Alexander, Andrea; Seedat, Fatima; Hurst Ellen
    Within the academic realm, a hierarchical structure prevails, giving rise to discernible power differentials between students and academic staff. These hierarchical power dynamics permeate the interactions between students and academic staff within the context of teaching and learning. Concurrently, language and racial identity emerge as formidable gatekeepers, significantly influencing students' sense of belonging and their capacity to engage in knowledge production within the academic domain. This research endeavours to unpack the role of gameplaying as a decolonial pedagogical approach in the African Feminist Studies (AFS) department. Moreover, the purpose of this study thus aims to explore the ways in which playing games functions as a decolonial pedagogic method for teaching and to include students as co-producers of knowledge together with academic staff. This examination takes the form of a qualitative study, underpinned by the theoretical framework of decolonial feminism. The data for this study originates from gameplaying sessions facilitated during lectures, tutorials, and postgraduate seminars. Specifically, the boardgame "Clue & A" was used it was created to foster discussions pertaining to diversity, transformation, and decolonization within the academia. Participants in this research include students and academic staff affiliated with courses offered by the African Feminist Studies (AFS) department at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Additionally, two students and two academic staff members from the University of the Western Cape who participated in the UCT postgraduate seminar series are included. For the purpose of analysis, thematic analysis has been used
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    The alchemy of the dhikr ritual: South African Sufi women experiences
    (2025) Mitha, Kareema; Shaikh, Sa'diyya; Seedat, Fatima
    This research examines the embodied ritual practices and processes of self-cultivation experienced by South African Sufi women, contextualising these within the historical, cultural, and gendered frameworks that have long shaped religious and social life in South Africa. Situated in feminist theory, the study adresses the historical marginalisation of women's voices in both Islamic and South African socio-religious discourses, focusing on how patriarchal structures and apartheid-era segregation influenced the development of religious practices of Muslim communities. In these communities, Sufi women engage in transformative practices like dhikr (remembrance of God), positioning ritual as both a means of spiritual deepening and a method of self-realisation that helps them navigate and reshape personal and collective identities. Anchored in the Sufi metaphor of life as a ‘journey,' this research illustrates how these embodied spiritual practices support women's self-formation, empowering them to negotiate layered identities and respond to sociopolitical forces with resilience and intentionality. The study's interdisciplinary approach draws on religious studies, Islamic psychology, theological anthropology, and gender theory to explore how these women's spiritual journeys serve as acts of self-articulation, connection, and resistance. Through an analysis of themes like identity, community, and the guidance provided by their Shaykh, the research captures the dynamics of self-identity, belonging, and personal agency. The participants' evolving identities are analysed within their socio-religious environments, revealing how spiritual practices help them cultivate awareness and self-understanding within a framework of resilience and openness. By highlighting their progression toward oneness— grounded in both a sense of individuality and a unified spiritual purpose—the study also reveals the ethical and communal values these women cultivate. Through community bonds and spiritual mentorship, they integrate values of self-awareness, empathy, and shared growth, reinforcing a collective ethical compass in line with their spiritual goals.
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    Women and activism : Indian Muslim women's responses to apartheid South Africa
    (2003) Seedat, Fatima
    Bibliography: leaves 125-128.