The value of litigation to women environmental human rights defenders in South Africa

Despite a legal framework designed to confront past injustices, the South African mining industry still excludes black people, and black women in particular, from decision-making about natural resources, and from opportunities to benefit from the use of those resources. Undeterred, women in mining-affected communities have demonstrated remarkable resilience, mobilising into a national network called Women Affected by Mining United in Action (WAMUA) which, amongst other strategies, has used litigation as part of their struggles for the advancement of environmental justice. This chapter discusses a case concerning the exclusion of communities like the ones WAMUA represents from the process to amend the Mining Charter (a legislatively-required instrument designed to facilitate transformation of the mining industry in South Africa). Against the backdrop of contestation around the value of public-interest litigation, this chapter explores the material, legal and political impact of this case, as well as its broader implications for climate justice struggles.