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“The unfinished challenge of equality in South African higher education: an intersectional analysis from a capability perspective”
In post-apartheid South Africa, widening poverty and unequal distribution of resources are exacerbated by decreasing employment, hollowing out of public resources and persistent geographic segregation. This social landscape is mirrored in South African higher education institutions, where black, working-class students must compete for recognition and participation within increasingly privatized universities. Despite having access to higher education, socioeconomic vulnerability, gender-based violence and racial segregation constrain access to equal participation for students who have unequal access to resources and opportunities. Other exclusions are structurally embedded discrimination against students who ‘lack’ the required cultural and social capitals required for recognition as valued member of the institution. The capability approach used to conduct this research draws attention to intersecting vulnerabilities facing eight undergraduate students at a South African university, while also foregrounding the agency and resources with which these students resisted structural barriers as they negotiated inequalities in higher education.