The intersectionality of religion, race and gender at the time of COVID-19 pandemic: A South African reflection

Abstract

This paper presents the intersectionality of religion, race, and gender during the COVID-19 pandemic from a South African perspective. Though COVID-19 has affected every area in South Africa, the intersectionality of religion, race, gender class has begun to be interrogated by scholars, NGOs, and faith-based organizations. The interpretative phenomenological analysis study was conducted at a South African rural-based hospital, which is comprised of black personnel who serve only black people from impoverished villages. The data were collected from 11 nurses who had suffered from COVID-19. Following Pietkiewicz and Smith's (2014:7) steps of thematic data analysis, results indicated that nurses who suffered from COVID-19 had faced the dilemma of administering Western medicine or traditional African medicine. In other words, the universality of western medicine as effective and scientific created an epistemological dilemma for those that viewed traditional African medicine as an alternative to western medicine. As such, this was also necessitated by the view that Western medicinal treatments were not as effective in comparison to traditional African medicine. This view indicates the effectiveness of perception. Succinctly put, the social and epistemic location of the participants functioned as an epistemological discourse in engaging the notion of the ‘supremacy’ of Western medicine and the choice of administering both Western and traditional medicinal treatments. The choice of opting to administer both medicinal treatments was also necessitated by the scarce resources and access to hospital facilities. At the same time, the notion that traditional administration of medicines to treat COVID-19 was also viewed as an act of heathenism, based on religious belief. The intersectionality of religion and class became evident as illustrated in the findings that surrendering one's life to God through prayer was important and central for those infected and affected by COVID-19 instead of administering traditional African medicines. While there appears to be no objection to administering Western medicines, suggesting the convergence of both epistemologies as superior to the traditional epistemologies. Applying a decolonial analysis, the paper seeks to argue that there is a need to decolonise religion (western Christianity) in order to deconstruct the notion of traditional epistemologies as heathenism. This is in order to the delink so as to advance the notion of pluriversality and broader-thinking.