Chapter 4

Chapter 4 teaches us about womanhood in Guguletu. Before Mandisa knows to worry about Mxolisi, it is Siziwe she worries about. Siziwe is vulnerable in the chaos, and on her way home, Mandisa worries that her daughter will be raped. Rape, along with all other forms of violence, is common in Guguletu. Mandisa is able to relax a bit when she sees Siziwe at home, but a question of the relative worth of women arises when Mandisa learns that the schoolchildren have killed a white woman. Although the police perpetuate violence in Guguletu and do nothing to protect black women from the terror they face daily, they will rip the township apart in defense of one white woman. This is an example of the horrible injustice black women faced daily in apartheid South Africa, vulnerable under a regime that had no regard for their lives.

What is the main focused event in chapter 4?