Abahlali baseMjondolo is a grassroots movement of shack dwellers in South Africa, primarily based in Durban. The movement organizes for the rights of informal settlement residents, advocating for access to housing, water, and basic services. Abahlali baseMjondolo promotes participatory decision-making and community-led development initiatives.
| Creation date | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Land Use, Rights, Social change, Social justice |
| Context | Urban |
| Number of participants | 115000 |
| Typology | Grassroot group |
| Languages | English, Zulu |
| Thematics | Radical Democracy |
Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia.
The movement grew out of a road blockade organised from the Kennedy Road, Durban shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and has since expanded to other parts of South Africa. As of October 2022 it claims to have more than 115,000 members in good standing in 81 branches in four of the nine provinces of South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng
It has links with similar social movements elsewhere in the world, such as the Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil. It has faced sustained, and at times violent, repression. More than twenty of its leaders have been assassinated, something it blames on the ruling African National Congress.
Related resources