The Myth of the “Rainbow Nation”: Xenophobia, Sexual Violence, and Racial Tensions in Period Pain by Kopano Matlwa

Abstract

This paper sets out to analyze the phenomena that have contributed to debunk the myth of South Africa as a Rainbow Nation, in the aftermath of the country’s liberation from decades-long yoke of racial oppression. The construction of the South African nation as a rainbow was metaphorically meant to reflect the ethnic and cultural as well as racial make-up of the land. This new frame of mind posited the banishment of racial and discursive practices and foregrounded the Zulu concept of ‘ubuntu’ as an inter-human praxis. The reality on the ground, so the paper argues, shows that under the veneer of multiculturalism lie a groundswell of ethno-nationalism undercurrents that has a warped view of citizenship, which culminates in regular violent outbreaks of xenophobic sentiment targeted principally at African migrants from other parts of the continent. Also, our investigation project brings to light the pervasiveness of “corrective rape” the motivations of which point to the ingrained character of the patriarchal system in the country. The racial tensions that lie beneath the surface in Period Pain glaringly show that the racial demons of the past have taken on, so to speak, a new hue and have as yet to be completely laid to rest. The agency of the lead character encapsulates optimism steeped in humanity.