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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Feminism in Africa'
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Swart, Marthane. "Piecing the puzzle : the development of feminist identity." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1345.
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Goredema, Ruvimbo Nyaradzo. "Women and Rhetoric In South Africa: Understanding Feminism and Militarism." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3772.
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Makoba, Lerato Theodora. "The experiences of infertile married African women in South Africa a feminist narrative inquiry /." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05282008-123151.
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Rich, Lisa D. "Feminism in developing countries : the question of the South African Indian." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1014822.
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The study-consisted of a survey questioning the respondents perceived social problems and issues facing women. The questionnaire was given to both Indian and African college students in Durban, South Africa. It was hypothesized that the Indian women would fit Rossi's Assimilationist Model of feminism. This was supported. It was also predicted that Assimilationist feminists would be more likely to name a women's issue when questioned about social problems. The opposite was found to be true. A much stronger relationship was found when race was used instead of the feminist model. Africans were much more likely to name women's issues with regard to family interpersonal relationships when questioned about social problems than were the Indian women. The latter listed structural issues such as poverty and race relations. One explanation could be that family issues are much more salient for Africans and structural issues are important to Indian women.Department of Sociology
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Meoto, Elvira N. Huff Cynthia Anne. "The evolution and formation of identity a case study of West African women's fiction from 1960s to 1990s /." Normal, Ill. : Illinois State University, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1432770681&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1216232418&clientId=43838.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2007.Title from title page screen, viewed on July 16, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Cynthia A. Huff (chair), Ronald L. Strickland, Paula Ressler. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-282) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Oldfield, Elizabeth F. "Transgressing boundaries : gender, identity, culture, and 'other' in postcolonial women's narratives in Africa." Thesis, University of Derby, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10545/231353.
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Fictions written between 1939 and 2005 by indigenous and white (post)colonial women writers who emerge from an African/European cultural experience form the focus of this study. Their voyages into the European diasporic space in Africa within the context of their texts are important since they speak of how African women's literature develops from, and is situated in relation to colonialism. African literature constitutes one facet of the new literatures in English from formerly colonised countries. However, the accomplishments of indigenous writer Grace Ogot are eclipsed by the critical acclaim received by her male counterparts, whilst Elspeth Huxley, Barbara Kimenye and Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, who emanate from Western culture but adopt an African perspective, are not accommodated by the `expatriate literature' genre. Hence, indigenous and white (post)colonial women's narratives by authors issuing from an African/European cultural experience are brought together to foreground European influence as an apparent phenomenon common to both categorieso f writers, with consequencesfo r the representation of gender, identity, culture and the `Other'. The selected texts are set in Kenya and Uganda, and a main concern is with the extent to which the works are impacted upon by setting and intercultural influences. However, this thesis argues that the `African' woman's creation of textuality is at once the formulation and expression of female individualities and a transgression of boundaries. Furthermore, Kimenye and Macgoye's children's literature illustrates the representation and configuration of a voice and identity for the female `Other' and writer, which enables a re-negotiation of identity and subsequently a crossing of borders. No critical study combines indigenous and white settler women's fiction written from an African perspective and therefore this study extends current scholarly knowledge. Whilst the combination of texts together with the disparate (post)colonial backgrounds is unique, the study of Kimenye and Macgoye's African children's narratives in particular breaks new ground since there is currently no critical comparative study pertaining to indigenous and white postcolonial women's children's literature with an African perspective
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Al-Qaiwani, Sara. "Nationalism, revolution and feminism : women in Egypt and Iran from 1880-1980." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2015. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3212/.
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The rise of women’s rights movements in the Middle East has a long, varied, and complex historical trajectory, which makes it a challenging area of comparative study. This thesis explores the development of notions of cultural authenticity and womanhood, and how women struck bargains with men around such notions, by looking at the rise of women’s rights discourses and movements in Egypt and Iran from 1880 to 1980. More specifically, it investigates how changing notions of ‘cultural authenticity’ and ‘womanhood’ affected the relationship between ‘nationalism’ and ‘feminism’, women’s relationship with modernizing states, and ‘female activism’ within revolutionary and Islamist opposition movements. 1880 was chosen as the starting period of this study to assess the modernist and nationalist debates of the late 19th century, which incorporated new women’s rights discourses in both cases. 1980 was chosen as an end point as the Iran'Iraq war, and the advent of ‘Islamic feminism’ debates over the next decades in both Iran and Egypt, introduced new factors and issues, which would not have been possible to assess properly within the scope of this study. The two countries were selected not only for their political significance, but because of key differences, particularly in terms of dominant language and religion, to help challenge generalizations about ‘Arab versus non'Arab culture’, and notions of a monolithic ‘Islam’, ‘Muslim culture’, and/or the Middle East. Differences between regional cases need to be highlighted to avoid generalizations and simplified readings of women’s histories. This thesis places its original contributions within existing historiography on women’s movements in Iran and Egypt, contributing to the wider debates on women’s histories and ‘feminisms’ in the Middle East. Its arguments contribute to existing historiography on women and nationalism, women and revolution, and women and the state in Iran, Egypt, and wider studies on Middle Eastern women’s histories.
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Klokow, Nicole Ann. "Hijacking feminism: representations of the new woman in South African television advertising practice." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/381.
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This study examines the extent to which feminism has been appropriated by the consumer culture. As the relationship between consumerism and patriarchy continues to dominate global economic and social practices, this appropriation points to a denial of the social and political importance of the feminist movement. An acknowledgement of our own complicity in the perpetuation of a sexist, racist and classist ideology – along with an understanding of the complicity of the media – is crucial in explaining relations of domination within our society (Thompson 1990). A study of television advertising practice allows us to “explore meaning as a social product, enmeshed in webs of power” (Jordan and Wheedon 1995:543). Consumer ‘freedom’ is the compulsory freedom (Slater 1997), as we buy as many symbols as products. This study shows that for all the ‘strides’ feminism has made, media images of women are largely traditional, prescriptive (although an ironic distance is often implied) or overtly sexualised. Feminism is never mentioned, as women’s gains are presented as ahistorical in a ‘post-feminist’ world. Third wave feminism is an attempt to embrace all feminisms and feminists, working to inject some substance and truth behind advertising’s feminist veneer.
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DONKOR, DORCAS A. "The Rise of Cyberfeminism in Africa: Pepper Dem Ministries’ Take on Ghana." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1597260157867617.
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McEwan, Cheryl. "How the 'seraphic' became 'geographic' : women travellers in West Africa, 1840-1915." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1995. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7006.
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This thesis brings together two important developments in contemporary geography; firstly, the recognition of the need to write critical histories of geographical thought and, particularly, the relationship between modern geography and European imperialism, and secondly, the attempt by feminist geographers to countervail the absence of women in these histories. Drawing on recent innovative attempts by geographers to construct alternative, contextual perspectives in (re)writing histories of geographical thought, the thesis analyzes the travel narratives of British women travellers in West Africa between 1840 and 1915. Recent attempts by feminists to include women in histories of geography and imperialism have, all too often, failed to analyze critically the role of women in imperial culture, or have reproduced gender dichotomies in their analysis. This thesis seeks to overcome these problems in three ways. Firstly, it explores the contributions of women travellers to imperial culture, primarily through their production of popular geographies. Secondly, it analyzes the ways in which these women were empowered in the imperial context by virtue of both race and class. Thirdly, it frames the accounts of each woman within the specific spatial and temporal context of their journeys in order to explore the complexities in the popular geographies they produced. The thesis illustrates that while gender was an important factor in the construction of images in the travel narratives of Victorian women travellers, this cannot be divorced from the wider context of their journey, nor from other elements in power relations based on difference such as race and class. Using this framework, the study explores in detail the production of popular geographies of the landscapes and peoples of West Africa by British women travellers, and formulates an argument on how women and their experiences can be included in histories of geographical thought.
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Nwokocha, Sandra Chinyeaka. "Feminism in twenty-first-century Nigerian novels by women." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7310/.
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Scholarship on twenty-first century Nigerian female-authored novels has long been dominated by womanist readings, regardless of the fact that these modern narratives represent feminism in strong terms. The readings often subsume subversive femininity within non-aggressive liberation, resulting in an insufficient narrative of the intricacies of the novels of the period. This thesis challenges such representations by proposing subversion as the hallmark of twenty- first century Nigerian female-authored novels through a textual analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come and Kaine Agary’s Yellow Yellow. Through a gynocentric approach, the analysis of the novels foregrounds a feminist view of domination, resistance and solidarity, espousing the premise that the contemporary heroines are understandably rebellious in asserting female agency. The thesis draws three fundamental conclusions: that the feminist paradigm is useful to the comprehension of the nuances of twenty-first century Nigerian female-authored novels, that dissidence is a remarkable feature of contemporary texts, and that this revolutionary tendency contrasts with the conservative attitudes of the previous epoch.
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Slamat, Anastasia Nicole. "NGOs as linkages between grassroots women and the state : prospects for state feminism in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80228.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The core question that is addressed by this research is whether, and to what extent South African women’s NGOs contribute to enhancing state feminism through their ability to articulate and mobilise the strategic interests of women at grassroots level to appear on the national agenda, through the channels provided by the National Gender Machinery (structures of the state). A literature review was conducted that draws on the work of predominantly feminist authors in order to locate this research in previous scholarly knowledge that is relevant to the purpose of this study. The literature review includes elaboration of concepts like state feminism, women’s interests, agenda setting, civil society, and linkages between the women’s movement and the National Gender Machinery (NGM). A theoretical framework developed by Stetson and Mazur (1995), which aims at measuring whether gender machineries facilitate an increase in gender equality within the state, is used. The framework utilises two dimensions in order to investigate the level of state feminism within a country, i.e. state capacity, which investigates to what extent gender machineries influence and inform policy that is feminist and gender friendly; and state-society relations, which investigates the extent to which gender machineries provide opportunities for organised civil society actors (women’s organisations) to engage and access policy making and contribute to policy influence. In order to examine the levels of state capacity present in South Africa with regard to gender equality, current patterns of politics (a concept used by Stetson and Mazur) are considered. This is done in order to evaluate whether the political context is conducive to the passing and implementation of policy that is of a feminist nature. A qualitative study of the experience of four South African women’s NGOs, using face-to-face interviews specially designed for this purpose, was undertaken. The NGOs were interviewed in order to ascertain the status of state-society linkages, and whether the state provides access to civil society actors to inform policy making and implementation from a gender-friendly perspective that is reflective of grassroots women’s interests. The NGOs interviewed are the New Women’s Movement (NWM), the Women’s Legal Centre, the Black Sash and the International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG). The findings of the fieldwork are analysed according to the framework of Stetson and Mazur (1995) in order to formulate a response to the research question. Findings include the presence of state capacity that is hostile to gender issues, with minimal (unreceptive) efforts to engage society actors in a flourishing state-society relationship. The provision of unreceptive and inconsistent space provided by the state, the lack of commitment to gender by women working within the state, and the state of “decline” that many South African NGOs are facing, have led to a “blockage” in the articulation of gender issues by NGOs that emanates from grassroots level to inform policy making, and contributes to the institutionalisation of state feminism. The national levels have therefore been largely out of touch with the interests of women at grassroots level as a result of minimal engagement and communication through the (dysfunctional) NGM. The state has spoken on behalf of, and decided on behalf of, women what is best for them and their livelihoods. Instead of being a gateway to the institutionalisation of state feminism, the state has acted as a patriarchal entity and has, to a very large extent, further entrenched gender inequality and the hardships faced by ordinary South African women at grassroots level.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die kernvraag wat deur hierdie navorsing aangespreek word is of, en tot watter mate, Suid-Afrikaanse vroue se nie-regeringsorganisasies (NRO’s) bydra tot die verbreding van staatsfeminisme deur hul vermoë om die strategiese belange van vroue op voetsoolvlak te artikuleer sodat dit op die nasionale agenda deur die kanale wat deur die Nasionale Gender Masjinerie (NGM) (strukture in die staat) verskaf word, verskyn. ’n Literatuurstudie, wat die werk van hoofsaaklik feministiese outeurs aanhaal, is onderneem om hierdie navorsing binne vorige akademiese kennis wat relevant is tot die doel van hierdie studie, te plaas. Dit sluit bespreking van konsepte soos staatsfeminisme, vrouebelange, agenda-skepping, burgerlike samelewing, en verhoudings tussen die vrouebeweging en die NGM in. ’n Teoretiese raamwerk wat deur Stetson en Mazur (1995) ontwikkel is, wat ten doel het om vas te stel of gendermasjinerie ’n toename in geslagsgelykheid binne die staat fasiliteer, word gebruik. Die raamwerk gebruik twee dimensies om die vlak van staatsfeminisme in ’n land te ondersoek, naamlik staatskapsiteit, wat ondersoek tot watter mate gendermasjinerie beleid wat feministies en gender-vriendelik is, beïnvloed en inlig; en staat-samelewing verhoudinge, wat ondersoek instel na die mate waartoe gendermasjinerie geleenthede bied vir akteurs vanuit die georganiseerde burgerlike samelewing om toegang te kry tot en deel te neem aan die beleidmakings- en -implementeringsproses. Om die vlakke van staatskapasiteit t.o.v. geslagsgelykheid in Suid-Afrika te ontleed, word kontemporêre politieke patrone (’n konsep wat deur Stetson en Mazur gebruik word) gebruik. Dit word gedoen om vas te stel of die politieke konteks gunstig is vir die goedkeuring en implementering van beleid van ’n feministiese aard. ’n Kwalitatiewe studie van die ervaring van vier Suid-Afrikaanse NRO’s met behulp van aangesig-tot-aangesig onderhoude wat spesiaal vir hierdie doel ontwerp is, is onderneem. Die onderhoude is met die NRO’s gevoer om die status van staat-samelewing verhoudings vas te stel, en om te bepaal of die staat toegang verleen aan akteurs vanuit die burgerlike samelewing om beleidmakings- en -implementeringsprosesse vanuit ’n gender-vriendelike perspektief, wat die belange van vroue op voetsoolvlak reflekteer, te informeer. Die NRO’s waarmee onderhoude gevoer is, is die New Women’s Movement (NWM), die Women’s Legal Centre, die Black Sash en die International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG). Die bevindinge is volgens die raamwerk van Stetson en Mazur (1995) geanaliseer ten einde ’n antwoord op die navorsingsvraag te bied. Die bevindinge sluit in die aanwesigheid van staatskapasiteit wat vyandig gesind is teenoor gendersake, met minimale (nie-ontvanklike) pogings om akteurs vanuit die samelewing betrokke te kry in ’n florerende staat-samelewing verhouding. Die voorsiening van ’n nie-ontvanklike en nie-konsekwente ruimte deur die staat, die gebrek aan toewyding tot gendersake deur vroue wat binne die staat werk, en die toestand van agteruitgang wat baie Suid-Afrikaanse NRO’s in die gesig staar, het gelei tot ’n “blokkasie” in die artikulering van gendersake deur NRO’s, wat hul oorsprong het vanaf die voetsoolvlak om beleidmaking te informeer, en by te dra tot die institusionalisering van staatsfeminisme. Die nasionale vlak is dus baie uit voeling met die belange van vroue op voetsoolvlak a.g.v. minimale betrokkenheid en kommunikasie deur die (disfunksionele) NGM. Die staat praat en besluit namens vroue oor wat die beste vir hulle en hul bestaanswyses is. In stede van ’n poort te wees tot die institusionalisering van staatsfeminisme, tree die staat op as ’n patriargale entiteit en dra dit grootliks daartoe by om gender-ongelykheid en die swaarkry van gewone Suid-Afrikaanse vroue op voetsoolvlak verder te verskans.
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Loftus, A. J. "A Political Ecology of Water Struggles in Durban, South Africa." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 2006. http://digirep.rhul.ac.uk/items/83d8dfba-f70b-7131-1068-e38de07290fa/1/.
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This thesis looks at the relationshp between water and social power. It attempts to answer two questions: who controls the distribution of water in the South African city of Durban? And how might this distribution be transformed in positive democratic ways? In attempting to answer these questions, the thesis provides insights into post-apartheid South African society and the possibilities for democratic social change. The framework of analysis builds upon work conducted in urban political ecology. In particular, I argue that urban environments, indeed all environments, should be understood as created ecosystems. Recognising this, I suggest that Durban's waterscape should be seen as produced through capitalist social relations. The waterscape thereby becomes a particular accumulation strategy through which profits may be generated. for Durban's communities, one of the most direct effects of this capitalist accumulation strategy is that access to water is dependent upon the exchange of money. Whilst this situation has been amerliorated somewhat through the development of a free basic water policy, the policy itself has necessitated a much tighter regulation of domestic supplies and, in effect, a more severe commodification of each household's water supply. In turn, this has resulted in water infrastructure acquiring power over the lives of most residents. This, I argue, is a result of the social relations that come to be invested within that infrastructure. The possibilities for change that are suggested lie within the struggle for feminist standpoint and the connection of these situated knowledges of the waterscpe with a broader historical and geographical understanding of the terrain of civil society. from such an understanding of civil society, a dialectical critique of hegemony is opened up. Overall, the thesis moves from an analysis of the power relations camprising the waterscape to the development of a critique from which, it is hoped, the possibilities for political change might emerge.
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Bisschoff, Lizelle. "Women in African cinema : an aesthetic and thematic analysis of filmmaking by women in Francophone West Africa and Lusophone and Anglophone Southern Africa." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2337.
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This study focuses on the role of women in African cinema – in terms of female directors working in the African film industries as well as the representation of women in African film. My research specifically focuses on francophone West African and lusophone and anglophone Southern African cinemas (in particular post-apartheid South African cinema). This research is necessary and significant because African women are underrepresented in theoretical work as well as in the practice of African cinema. The small corpus of existing theoretical and critical studies on the work of female African filmmakers clearly shows that African women succeed in producing films against tremendous odds. The emergence of female directors in Africa is an important but neglected trend which requires more dedicated research. The pioneering research of African-American film scholar Beti Ellerson is exemplary in this regard, as she has, since the early 2000s, initiated a new field of academic study entitled African Women Cinema Studies. My own research is situated within this emerging field and aims to make a contribution to it. The absence of women in public societal spheres is often regarded as an indicator of areas where societies need to change. In the same sense the socio-political and cultural advancements of women are indicators of how societies have progressed towards improved living conditions for all. Because the African woman can be viewed as doubly oppressed, firstly by Black patriarchal culture and secondly by Western colonising forces, it is essential that the liberation of African women includes an opportunity for women to verbalise and demonstrate their own vision of women’s roles for the future. The study analyses a large corpus of films through exploring notions of nationalism and post/neo-colonialism in African societies; issues related to the female body such as health, beauty and sexuality; female identity, emancipation and African feminism in the past and present; the significance of traditional cultural practices versus the consequences and effects of modernity; and the interplay between the individual and the community in urban as well as rural African societies. Female filmmakers in Africa are increasingly claiming the right to represent these issues in their own ways and to tell their own stories. The methods they choose to do this and the products of their labours are the focus of this study. Ultimately, the study attempts to formulate more complex models for the analysis of African women’s filmmaking practices, in tracing the plurality of a female aesthetics and the multiplicity of thematic approaches in African women’s filmmaking.
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Jackson, Carey-Ann. "An anti-racist feminist analysis of power: a case study of a group of African women in an Eastern Cape township." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002505.
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It is argued that South African feminism in the 1990's risks sabotaging itself as a movement and as a form of social critique because it has (1) not completely eradicated key positivist elements from its ontology and epistemology; (2) inadequately examined a crucial issue in an emancipatory social science, namely power; (3) increasingly opted for relativist and pragmatist perspectives in theorising women's oppression and social transformation. It is further argued that the over-reliance on relativism, standpoint theory and pragmatism is problematic for contemporary feminism. As an alternative, Bhaskar's transformational analysis of power in combination with an anti-racist feminism and social psychology is used to provide a robust framework within which complex social issues may be addressed. In this study, 16 female participants were interviewed about their experiences of living in an impoverished township. Themes identified in the data suggested that the theoretical perspectives used in the study provided insights into the subtleties and complexities of the operation of power in society. These insights enabled productive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of development initiatives and political decision-making processes in the community, and the survival strategies of its women. It is hoped that research work of this sort could make a real contribution to the ongoing women's emancipation struggle in Port Alfred and similar communities.
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Silva, Meyre Ivone Santana da. "Reinventando identidades: gênero, raça e nação na literatura de A.A.Aidoo." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2007. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/13034.
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This paper intends to analyse the African female literary expression as a significant contribution to an alteration in the literary scenario of the Anglophone African countries. African female writers works contribute to the process of history rewriting and the reconstruction of female images in the African societies. Ama ata Aidoo is one these women writers that contribute to the development of an african feminist theory. African feminists fight against neocolonial powers and tradional structures that constitute some mountains to women lives
Este trabalho pretende analisar a expressão literária feminina africana como contribuição significativa para uma alteração no panorama da literatura dos países africanos de expressão inglesa. As obras destas escritoras contribuem para o processo de reescritura da história e reconstrução da imagem das mulheres nas sociedades africanas. Ama Ata Aidoo é uma destas mulheres que contribuem para a formulação de uma teoria feminista africana. As femininstas africanas lutam contra os poderes neocoloniais e as estruturas tradicionais que funcionam como montanhas na vida das mulheres
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Rydhagen, Birgitta. "Feminist Sanitary Engineering as a Participatory Alternative in South Africa and Sweden." Doctoral thesis, Karlskrona : Blekinge Institute of Technology, 2002. http://www.bth.se/fou/forskinfo.nsf/allfirst2/0ecaa05e81bfec0ec1256fbd0057a98b?OpenDocument.
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Rapoo, Connie. "Figures of sacrifice Africa in the transnational imaginary /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1610482411&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Pittman, Alexandra. "Transforming Constraint: Transnational Feminist Movement Building in the Middle East and North Africa." Thesis, Boston College, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/2220.
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Thesis advisor: Ali BanuaziziThesis advisor: Sarah Babb
This dissertation focuses on the intersection of global and indigenous advocacy strategies in feminist women’s movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). I explore strategies of resistance and innovation in three contexts: (1) Globally, I analyze a sample of MENA NGOs in a transnational women’s rights network, Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) and their interactions in the international funding sphere; (2) Domestically, I examine a local Moroccan NGO’s strategy development process and their domestic and regional partnerships when organizing to reform the Moudawana (1999-2004); and (3) Regionally, I analyze inter-organizational collaboration and coalition building between three NGOs in the Campaign to Reform Arab Women’s Nationality (2001-2008). I locate the dissertation in a feminist activist framework and draw from diverse data sources, including years of fieldwork with WLP (2004-2008); participant observation and notes from five transnational women’s rights meetings (2005-2008); a content analysis of a sample of international funders’ and MENA feminist NGOs’ websites; and two in-depth case studies with data derived from historical analysis, three months of fieldwork in Morocco, interviews with Moroccan, Lebanese, and regional activists, and secondary document analysis. The findings provide deeper clarity into the strategic action of MENA feminist movements and the variety of social, political, and economic forces that shape their discourses and practices for achieving social change and gender equality. The findings contribute to the scholarly literature on transnational feminism and social movements and its intersection with the law
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Sociology
Discipline: Psychology
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Legge, Janet Helen. "Post-feminism in Cosmopolitan and For Him magazine (FHM) : a critical analysis." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005956.
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Cosmopolitan and For Him Magazine (FHM) are, at present, both the most widely read and, therefore, the most popular "white" consumer magazines in South Africa. They both appeal to young audiences of between 18 and 34 years of age, approximately, and target middle-class, educated groups of readers. My interest in Cosmopolitan and FHM lies in their ability to influence and shape their readers' actions, values, identities and relationships, in particular with the other gender. My analysis is focused on the cover pages and the Editor's letters of six copies of each magazine, ranging from April to September 2003, providing me with a corpus of 12 cover pages and 12 Editor's letters. I adopt a critical perspective through the use of Fairclough's (1989) Critical Discourse Analysis, supported by Mills (1995) Feminist Stylistics, McLoughlin's (2000) textual analysis of cover pages and Kress & van Leeuwen's (1996) visual analysis tools. By combining these different methodologies my research falls into what is newly termed Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar 2005). The cover page analyses used primarily McLoughlin and Kress & van Leeuwen and provides an element of pure genre analysis, while the analysis of the Editor's letters were subject to Fairclough's three inter-related stages of analysis, namely: a Description of the formal textual elements of the letters, an Interpretation which analyses the processes of text production and interpretation, and lastly an Explanation of the socio-historical context. Through an analysis of these magazines, whose interests are being served and how the readers are shaped and positioned by the magazines can be identified. My analyses revealed conflicting discourses within each magazine, however it was Cosmopolitan that revealed more tension and conflict in terms of identifying and representing women, while FHM subscribed, for the most part, uniformly to the "new lad" ideology. However, while Cosmopolitan attempted to show a forward-thinking and emancipatory view of the roles of men and women in society, both magazines covertly sustain patriarchal dominance and hegemonic masculinity. In conclusion, I reveal the need for consumers of the mass media to become more critically aware of the ideologies that are promoted through the differing tools of the media and that only through this critical awareness can any further movement towards equal relations between men and women be made.KMBT_363
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Kirsten, Nasrin. "A qualitative exploration of the experiences of female executives in the financial sector of South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46112.
Full textAbstract:
This study is a qualitative exploration of the experiences of female executives in the financial sector of South Africa. It aims to explore the perceptions of the possible challenges which have been experienced by executive women within the financial sector while attempting to break the glass ceiling.
In many countries including South Africa there lies a contradiction between our governmental policies of equality and equal representation for men and women in the employment sectors and the actual practice. Despite the fact that our employment laws have changed in order to give equal opportunities to both males and females there is still such a small percentage of women holding executive positions in corporate South Africa and this could be a consequence of the challenges faced by them.
Using interpretive phenomenological analysis based on a feminist standpoint as a method, this study explores the hidden gender inequalities that exist within the boardrooms of the financial sector. It starts by exploring how available literature constructs the problem as related to the internal organisational and institutional structures of the financial sectors and individual matters and societal perceptions.
Interview data from semi-structured interviews with females in executive positions were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Similar views emerged from the participants in this study, which confirm previous literature and studies. The barriers highlighted in this research were the different roles which men and women perform, compensation, networking and mentoring disadvantages, re-entry into the corporate world after maternity leave and the ability to be a mother and career woman at the same time. The study agrees that women tend to experience the glass ceiling or factors contributing to what has been termed the glass ceiling.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
tm2015
Psychology
MA
Unrestricted
22
Ngum, Funiba. "An exploratory study of experiences of parenting among female students at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2011. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_1106_1361369984.
Full textAbstract:
Advancement in education has ensured that there is parity in terms of enrolment for
both females and males at tertiary institutions. However, women students continue to face challenges to advancing in education. Given that South African society remains highly gendered and that universities are historically male-dominated sites that do not necessarily cater for the particular
needs of women (or children), one area of challenge may relate to having to balance parenting roles with the demands of being a student. For example, at the University of the Western Cape
(UWC), students with children are prohibited from access to the residences, leaving them with no option but to seek alternative accommodation, where they can remain with their babies or look for childcare support from their relatives. While there is a growing body of work on the experiences of school-going pregnant and parenting learners, there is little work in the South African context of the experiences of women who are both parents and students at tertiary institutions. Since the national education system clearly supports and encourages life-long learning, an investigation into the conditions and experiences of learning for parenting students is important. The focus on women students was motivated by existing findings that show how normative gender roles persist and that women continue to be viewed as the primary nurturers with respect to the care of children. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of motherhood among young female students at UWC. The study was situated within a feminist social constructionist framework and a feminist qualitative methodology was employed. Two or more interviews were conducted with a group of eight participants, selected by convenient sampling, and aged between 18 and 30 years, each with a child or children under the age of five
years. Interviews were conducted at the participants&rsquo
choice of location and at a time that was convenient to them. All interviews were audio-recorded and the tapes were kept safely in the
researcher&rsquo
s home. All standard ethical procedures for research with human subjects were followed. Data was transcribed verbatim and a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Key
themes
were elucidated and data presented thematically. The key challenges cited included time management, self motivation and the social demands of being a mother. These tend to have adverse repercussions on academic excellence. The analysis revealed that though the young women are allowed to return to universities after becoming mothers, they face many challenges in trying to balance motherhood and the demands of schooling. Furthermore, the findings highlight the tension and ambivalence experienced by participants as they negotiate the social and cultural expectations of motherhood and their personal reality, in meeting the demands of motherhood as student mothers. In their struggle to meet the social and cultural expectations of motherhood, they placed tremendous emotional and physical stress upon themselves which manifested as guilt, physical exhaustion, psychological stress, physical illness and the desire to leave studies notwithstanding the value they attached to it. Although the participants challenged these expectations in various ways, the underlying nuances when they recounted their experiences, remain embedded in these societal and cultural expectations. However, in voicing their experiences, it was clear that they were not always simply accepting the status quo but at times challenging it, and thereby deconstructing the myths of motherhood that are so salient in current social and cultural contexts. The study also found that student mothers at UWC, at least on the basis of this small sample - do not appear to receive sufficient support on campus (physically, materially and emotionally). The study concludes that this group of
student mothers face serious challenges as mothers and students and, further, that these challenges are exacerbated by the continued social expectations of women to be &lsquo
perfect&rsquo
mothers which, together with the material gender inequalities in sharing parenting care, could impede effective academic studies. The study recommends that universities play a stronger role in alleviating the challenges for such students. In addition, it recommends that more research be conducted in the area, possibly longitudinal studies, as well as studies that may be more generalisable.
23
Swart, E. D. "A feminist critique and comparative analysis of the rule of evidence in rape trials in South Africa /." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=30331.
Full textAbstract:
The primary purpose of this paper is to indicate how Canadian legislative reforms could provide valuable insights regarding the reform of sexual assault law in South Africa. The first section of this paper contains an examination of three particular evidentiary rules in the South African context. In the second section a feminist critique of rape law is used to explore the significance of these rules in rape trials, using the framework of significant themes of the feminist enquiry. In the third section I look at the development of these evidentiary rules in Canada and evaluate the present legal position in this regard, with particular reference to decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Seaboyer, R v Gayme (1991) 83 D.L.R. (4th) 193. In the final instance, an attempt is made to identify some significant lessons for those seeking to formulate the much needed reforms to these rules in South Africa.
24
Johansen, Kine Fjell. "The state and civil society in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa : the case of women’s movements." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6875.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Both democracy and civil society is seen to be dysfunctional in many African countries. Political leaders are not accountable to the people and citizens’ participation in the democracies is low. Particularly, women have often been neglected both within formal politics and the civil society. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate the role of the women’s movements in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. The study has focused on the relationship between the women’s movement and the state, and further addressed the extent to which the women’s movements have been able to direct the state and influence policymaking for improved women’s rights and gender equality in the respective countries. The thesis has found that the relationship between the women’s movements and the state in the three countries inhibits very different characteristics that give rise to varying degrees of success from the work of the women’s movements. Further, the relationship has been subjected to changes in accordance with the overall political developments in the three countries. In Uganda and South Africa the political transitions of the mid 1980s and early 1990s, each respectively represented a period of good connection and communication between the women’s movements and the state. The women’s movements were able to present a strong voice and, thereby, were able to influence the state for the adoption of national gender machineries. After the political transitions, the relationship between the women’s movements and the state in both Uganda and South Africa has, however, become more constrained. In South Africa, the debates on women’s rights and gender equality have been moved from the terrain of the civil society and into the state, leading to a seemingly weakened voice for the women’s movement outside the state. In Uganda, the women’s movement have come to be subjected to pressure for co-optation by the government. The government does not genuinely uphold a concern for increased women’s rights and gender equality, and the women’s movement has at times been directly counteracted. Further, in Kenya, the women’s movement’s relationship with the state is characterised by competition rather than communication. The women’s movement is subjected to high degrees of repression, attempts of cooptation and silencing from the state, and the women’s movement have been effectively restricted from presenting a strong voice and influence the state to any great. The three case- studies illustrates that the political opportunity structures present at a particular time influence the extent to which women’s movements can work effectively in different contexts.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Menige Afrikaland se demokrasie sowel as burgerlike samelewing word as disfunksioneel beskou. Politieke leiers doen geen verantwoording aan die mense nie, en burgers se deelname aan demokrasie is gebrekkig. Veral vroue word afgeskeep in die formele politieke sfeer én die burgerlike samelewing. Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die rol van die vrouebewegings in Uganda, Suid-Afrika en Kenia te ondersoek. Die studie konsentreer op die verhouding tussen die vrouebeweging en die staat, en handel voorts oor die mate waarin die verskillende vrouebewegings die staat kan lei en beleidbepaling kan beïnvloed om beter vroueregte en gendergelykheid in die onderskeie lande teweeg te bring. Die tesis bevind dat die verhouding tussen die vrouebewegings en die staat in die drie lande onder beskouing baie uiteenlopende kenmerke toon, wat wisselende grade van sukses in die vrouebewegings se werk tot gevolg het. Voorts verander dié verhouding namate die oorkoepelende politieke bestel in die drie lande verander. Uganda en Suid-Afrika se politieke oorgange in die middeltagtiger- en vroeë negentigerjare onderskeidelik het ʼn tydperk van goeie bande en kommunikasie tussen die vrouebewegings en die staat verteenwoordig. Die vrouebewegings se stem het groot gewig gehad en kon dus die staat beïnvloed om nasionale beleid en werkswyses met betrekking tot gender in te stel. Ná die onderskeie politieke oorgange is die verhouding tussen die vrouebeweging en die staat in sowel Uganda as Suid-Afrika egter aansienlik ingeperk. In Suid-Afrika het die debat oor vroueregte en gendergelykheid van die gebied van die burgerlike samelewing na die staat verskuif, wat die vrouebeweging se stem buite die staat aansienlik verswak het. In Uganda is die vrouebeweging weer onderwerp aan druk van koöpsie deur die regering. Die regering blyk nie werklik besorg te wees oor beter vroueregte en gendergelykheid nie, en die vrouebeweging word by tye direk teengewerk. Daarbenewens word die Keniaanse vrouebeweging se verhouding met die staat gekenmerk deur kompetisie eerder as kommunikasie. Die vrouebeweging het te kampe met heelwat onderdrukking en koöpsie- en muilbandpogings van die staat, en word in effek daarvan weerhou om hul menings te lug en die staat in enige beduidende mate te beïnvloed met die oog op groter doelgerigtheid en beter beleidbepaling wat vroueregte en gendergelykheid betref. Die drie gevallestudies toon dat die politieke geleentheidstrukture op ʼn bepaalde tydstip ʼn uitwerking het op die mate waarin vrouebewegings doeltreffend in verskillende kontekste kan funksioneer.
25
Gibson, Christine Concetta. "Neoliberalism and Dependence: A Case Study of The Orphan Care Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0003248.
Full text
26
Ellis, Emily Melissa. "Global taxes and a more equitable global political economy : a feminist analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49977.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Feminist international relations theories stress that global solutions to environmental, social and economic dilemmas will not be accurately diagnosed nor corrected until hierarchal social relations, including gender relations, intrinsic to the global economic and political framework are recognized and altered. How does a feminist interpretation of international relations aid in the adoption of global taxes to benefit women? This study explores the ways a mechanism such as global taxation could be utilized to create a more equitable global political economy. The study is exploratory making use of a qualitative methodology employing secondary data from industries such as tourism, toy production, and textiles. Feminist perspectives on environmental, social, and economic security, rational actor behavior and collectivism facilitate the dialogue which is essential for global tax implementation. The adoption of global taxes has the capability to better the lived experiences of women globally by minimizing poverty and strengthening the working conditions of women worldwide. Proposed carbon taxes and global commons taxes work to redefine environmental security by placing appropriate price indicators on the use of globally used resources. Proposed email taxes, world trade taxes, and currency exchange fee taxes grant the fiscal resources necessary to create greater economic and social security. Chapter One is an analysis of the global political economy. Chapter Two explains the controversial and progressive idea of a global tax administered by the United Nations to deal with the inequity of globalization. Chapter Three focuses on the linkages between the introduction of a global tax and the feminist perspective on the global political economy. Chapter Four summarizes the structural inadequacies of the current economic framework to address the economic and social grievances that global taxes combat.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Feministiese teorieë oor internasionale verhoudinge benadruk die feit dat wêreldwye oplossings vir omgewings-, maatskaplike en ekonomiese probleme nóg akkuraat gediagnoseer nóg reggestel kan word tensy hiërargiese sosiale verhoudinge (waaronder genderverhoudinge), wat onlosmaaklik deel van die wêreldwye ekonomiese en politieke raamwerk is, as sulks erken en verander word. Hoe dra die feministiese interpretasie van internasionale verhoudinge by tot die instelling van wêreldwye belasting wat vroue tot voordeel strek? Hierdie studie ondersoek maniere waarop 'n meganisme soos wêreldwye belasting benut kan word om 'n billiker wêreldwye politieke ekonomie daar te stel. Die studie is ondersoekend van aard en maak gebruik van kwalitatiewe metodes wat sekondêre data uit bedrywe soos toerisme, speelgoedproduksie en die tekstielbedryf gebruik. Feministiese standpunte oor omgewings-, maatskaplike en ekonomiese sekuriteit, rasionele optrede en kollektivisme dra by tot dialoog wat noodsaaklik is vir die instelling van wêreldwye belasting. Danksy die instelling van wêreldwye belasting kan die lewenservaring van vroue wêreldwyd verbeter word deur armoede te beperk en werkstoestande van vroue wêreldwyd te verbeter. Die voorgestelde koolstofbelasting en wêreldmeent-belasting sal bydra tot 'n nuwe benadering in omgewingsbeveiliging deurdat toepaslike prysaanwysers aan die gebruik van wêreldwyd benutte hulpbronne gekoppel word. Die voorgestelde e-posbelasting, wêreldhandelbelasting en belasting op valutagelde sal nodige fiskale middele bied vir die daarstelling van beter ekonomiese en maatskaplike sekuriteit. Hoofstuk 1 is 'n analise van die wêreldwye politieke ekonomie. Hoofstuk 2 is 'n uiteensetting wêreldwye belasting as kontroversiële en progressiewe konsep, wat deur die Verenigde Nasies geadministreer sou word om die wanbalans in globalisasie die hoof te bied. Hoofstuk 3 handel oor die raakpunte tussen die instelling van 'n wêreldwye belasting en die feministiese beskouing van die wêreldwye politieke ekonomie. Hoofstuk 4 bied 'n oorsig oor die strukturele ontoereikendheid van die huidige ekonomiese raamwerk met betrekking tot die ekonomiese en maatskaplike griewe wat wêreldwye belasting sou bekamp.
27
Woodard, Davon Teremus Trevino. "FRAMES OF DIGITAL BLACKNESS IN THE RACIALIZED PALIMPSEST CITY: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104658.
Full textAbstract:
The United States and South Africa, exemplars of "archsegregation," have been constituted within an arc of historical racialized delineations which began with the centering, and subsequent overrepresentation, of European maleness and whiteness as the sole definition of Man. Globally present and persistent, these racialized delineations have been localized and spatially embedded through the tools of urban planning. This arc of racialized otherness, ineffectively erased, continues to inform the racially differentiated geospatial, health, social, and economic outcomes in contemporary urban form and functions for Black communities. It is within this historical arc, and against these differentiated outcomes, that contemporary urban discourse and contestation between individuals and institutions are situated.
This historical othering provides not just a racialized geo-historical contextualization, but also works to preclude the recognition of the some of the most vulnerable urban community members. As urbanists and advocates strive to co-create urban space and place with municipalities, meeting the needs of these residents is imperative. In order to meet these needs, their lived experiences, and voices must be fully recognized and engaged in the processes and programs of urban co-creation, including in digital spaces and forums. Critical to achieving recognition acknowledging and situating contemporary digital discourses between local municipalities, Black residents, and Black networks within this historically racialized arc is necessary. In doing so, explore if, and how, race, specifically Blackness, is enacted in municipal digital discourse, whether these enactments serve to advance or impede resident recognition and participation, and how Black users, as residents and social network curators, engage and respond to these municipal discursive enactments.
This exploratory research is a geographically and digitally multi-sited incorporated comparison of Chicago, Illinois, and Johannesburg South Africa. Using Twitter and ethnographic data collected between December 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, this research layers digital ethnographic mixed methods and qualitive mixed methods, including traditional ethnographic, digital ethnographic, grounded theory, social change and discourse analysis, and frame analysis to explore three research goals.
First, explore the digital discursive practices and frames employed by municipalities to inform, communicate with, and engage Black communities, and, if and how, these frames are situated within a historically racialized arc. Second, identify the ways in which Black residents, in dual discursive engagements with local municipalities and their own social networks, interact and engage with the municipal frames centering on Blackness. Third, through ethnographic narratives, acknowledge the marginalized residents of the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa as "agents of knowledge," with critical and valuable knowledge claims which arise from their lived experiences anchored within racialized place and space. In doing so, support the efforts of these residents in recentering the validity of their knowledge claims in the co-creation of urban place and space. Additionally, in situating the city within a historically racialized arc develop novel frameworks, the racialized palimpsest city and syndemic segregation, through which to explore contemporary urban interactions and engagements.Doctor of Philosophy
The United States and South Africa, exemplars of "archsegregation," have been constituted within an arc of historical racialized delineations which began with the centering, and subsequent overrepresentation, of European maleness and whiteness as the sole definition of Man. Globally present and persistent, these racialized delineations have been localized and spatially embedded through the tools of urban planning. This arc of racialized otherness, ineffectively erased, continues to inform the racially differentiated geospatial, health, social, and economic outcomes in contemporary urban form and functions for Black communities. It is within this historical arc, and against these differentiated outcomes, that contemporary urban discourse and contestation between individuals and institutions are situated. This historical othering provides not just a racialized geo-historical contextualization, but also works to preclude the recognition of the some of the most vulnerable urban community members. As urbanists and advocates strive to co-create urban space and place with municipalities, meeting the needs of these residents is imperative. In order to meet these needs, their lived experiences, and voices must be fully recognized and engaged in the processes and programs of urban co-creation, including in digital spaces and forums. Critical to achieving recognition acknowledging and situating contemporary digital discourses between local municipalities, Black residents, and Black networks within this historically racialized arc is necessary. In doing so, explore if, and how, race, specifically Blackness, is enacted in municipal digital discourse, whether these enactments serve to advance or impede resident recognition and participation, and how Black users, as residents and social network curators, engage and respond to these municipal discursive enactments. This exploratory research is a geographically and digitally multi-sited incorporated comparison of Chicago, Illinois, and Johannesburg South Africa. Using Twitter and ethnographic data collected between December 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, this research layers digital ethnographic mixed methods and qualitive mixed methods, including traditional ethnographic, digital ethnographic, grounded theory, social change and discourse analysis, and frame analysis to explore three research goals. First, explore the digital discursive practices and frames employed by municipalities to inform, communicate with, and engage Black communities, and, if and how, these frames are situated within a historically racialized arc. Second, identify the ways in which Black residents, in dual discursive engagements with local municipalities and their own social networks, interact and engage with the municipal frames centering on Blackness. Third, through ethnographic narratives, acknowledge the marginalized residents of the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa as "agents of knowledge," with critical and valuable knowledge claims which arise from their lived experiences anchored within racialized place and space. In doing so, support the efforts of these residents in recentering the validity of their knowledge claims in the co-creation of urban place and space. Additionally, in situating the city within a historically racialized arc develop novel frameworks, the racialized palimpsest city and syndemic segregation, through which to explore contemporary urban interactions and engagements.
28
Woodard, Davon Teremus Trevino. "Frames of Digital Blackness in the Racialized Palimpsest City: Chicago, Illinois and Johannesburg, South Africa." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104658.
Full textAbstract:
The United States and South Africa, exemplars of "archsegregation," have been constituted within an arc of historical racialized delineations which began with the centering, and subsequent overrepresentation, of European maleness and whiteness as the sole definition of Man. Globally present and persistent, these racialized delineations have been localized and spatially embedded through the tools of urban planning. This arc of racialized otherness, ineffectively erased, continues to inform the racially differentiated geospatial, health, social, and economic outcomes in contemporary urban form and functions for Black communities. It is within this historical arc, and against these differentiated outcomes, that contemporary urban discourse and contestation between individuals and institutions are situated.
This historical othering provides not just a racialized geo-historical contextualization, but also works to preclude the recognition of the some of the most vulnerable urban community members. As urbanists and advocates strive to co-create urban space and place with municipalities, meeting the needs of these residents is imperative. In order to meet these needs, their lived experiences, and voices must be fully recognized and engaged in the processes and programs of urban co-creation, including in digital spaces and forums. Critical to achieving recognition acknowledging and situating contemporary digital discourses between local municipalities, Black residents, and Black networks within this historically racialized arc is necessary. In doing so, explore if, and how, race, specifically Blackness, is enacted in municipal digital discourse, whether these enactments serve to advance or impede resident recognition and participation, and how Black users, as residents and social network curators, engage and respond to these municipal discursive enactments.
This exploratory research is a geographically and digitally multi-sited incorporated comparison of Chicago, Illinois, and Johannesburg South Africa. Using Twitter and ethnographic data collected between December 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, this research layers digital ethnographic mixed methods and qualitive mixed methods, including traditional ethnographic, digital ethnographic, grounded theory, social change and discourse analysis, and frame analysis to explore three research goals.
First, explore the digital discursive practices and frames employed by municipalities to inform, communicate with, and engage Black communities, and, if and how, these frames are situated within a historically racialized arc. Second, identify the ways in which Black residents, in dual discursive engagements with local municipalities and their own social networks, interact and engage with the municipal frames centering on Blackness. Third, through ethnographic narratives, acknowledge the marginalized residents of the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa as "agents of knowledge," with critical and valuable knowledge claims which arise from their lived experiences anchored within racialized place and space. In doing so, support the efforts of these residents in recentering the validity of their knowledge claims in the co-creation of urban place and space. Additionally, in situating the city within a historically racialized arc develop novel frameworks, the racialized palimpsest city and syndemic segregation, through which to explore contemporary urban interactions and engagements.Doctor of Philosophy
The United States and South Africa, exemplars of "archsegregation," have been constituted within an arc of historical racialized delineations which began with the centering, and subsequent overrepresentation, of European maleness and whiteness as the sole definition of Man. Globally present and persistent, these racialized delineations have been localized and spatially embedded through the tools of urban planning. This arc of racialized otherness, ineffectively erased, continues to inform the racially differentiated geospatial, health, social, and economic outcomes in contemporary urban form and functions for Black communities. It is within this historical arc, and against these differentiated outcomes, that contemporary urban discourse and contestation between individuals and institutions are situated. This historical othering provides not just a racialized geo-historical contextualization, but also works to preclude the recognition of the some of the most vulnerable urban community members. As urbanists and advocates strive to co-create urban space and place with municipalities, meeting the needs of these residents is imperative. In order to meet these needs, their lived experiences, and voices must be fully recognized and engaged in the processes and programs of urban co-creation, including in digital spaces and forums. Critical to achieving recognition acknowledging and situating contemporary digital discourses between local municipalities, Black residents, and Black networks within this historically racialized arc is necessary. In doing so, explore if, and how, race, specifically Blackness, is enacted in municipal digital discourse, whether these enactments serve to advance or impede resident recognition and participation, and how Black users, as residents and social network curators, engage and respond to these municipal discursive enactments. This exploratory research is a geographically and digitally multi-sited incorporated comparison of Chicago, Illinois, and Johannesburg South Africa. Using Twitter and ethnographic data collected between December 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, this research layers digital ethnographic mixed methods and qualitive mixed methods, including traditional ethnographic, digital ethnographic, grounded theory, social change and discourse analysis, and frame analysis to explore three research goals. First, explore the digital discursive practices and frames employed by municipalities to inform, communicate with, and engage Black communities, and, if and how, these frames are situated within a historically racialized arc. Second, identify the ways in which Black residents, in dual discursive engagements with local municipalities and their own social networks, interact and engage with the municipal frames centering on Blackness. Third, through ethnographic narratives, acknowledge the marginalized residents of the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa as "agents of knowledge," with critical and valuable knowledge claims which arise from their lived experiences anchored within racialized place and space. In doing so, support the efforts of these residents in recentering the validity of their knowledge claims in the co-creation of urban place and space. Additionally, in situating the city within a historically racialized arc develop novel frameworks, the racialized palimpsest city and syndemic segregation, through which to explore contemporary urban interactions and engagements.
29
Holmlind, Ann-Louise. "The Adopted Daughter of Africa : A Close Reading of Joyce in Crossing the River from Postcolonial and Feminist Perspectives." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för humaniora, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-35935.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The aim of this essay is to explain why Caryl Phillips presents Joyce as "the adopted daughter of Africa" at the end of Crossing the River (1993). This will be done by performing a close reading. This essay will focus on Joyce’s actions and behaviour. Aspects of feminism and postcolonial theory will act as the theoretic basis for the analysis. The analysis of Joyce’s character will be put in relation to the whole of Phillips’ “Black Atlantic” narrative and to gender and third wave feminist theories. The analysis will show that Joyce, by breaking racial norms, renouncing her faith, defying her mother, divorcing her husband, and falling in love with Travis, is the person who defines hope in the novel. Her character, together with her son Greer, shows a path to reconciliation between races in the aftermath of colonialism.
30
Haaker, Malin. "La femme africaine dans Une si longue lettre de Mariama Bâ et Assèze l'africaine de Calixthe Beyala." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-33929.
Full textAbstract:
This study is based on the main female African characters in Une si longue lettre written in 1979 by Mariama Bâ and Assèze l’Africaine written in 1994 by Calixthe Beyala. Both novels describe the African society and the obstacles that exist for women in this society where men dominate. This study presents the transformation of Ramatoulaye that is a traditional and passive woman but she becomes modern. In addition, it presents the transformation of young Aïssatou that becomes an independent and strong woman, in these two novels. These two women are facing similar forms of discriminations and oppression in the African society and they are struggling against injustice in various ways. The aim of this analysis is to investigate how the image of the African women and the feminism in Africa show and develop through the main characters, Ramatoulaye and Aïssatou. The conclusion reveal that the image of the African women has considerably changed over the years in a positive way and that Femininity is a cultural construction and not a natural construction. The conclusion further reveal that even today a woman is not independent, but is still considered "the Other" in relation to the man.
31
Ada, Tchoukou Julie Ynes. "Legal Development and the Democratization of Human Rights in Post-modern Africa: A Case for the Legal Regulation of Cultural Violence Against Girls." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/42652.
Full textAbstract:
The problem of cultural violence against girls in Nigeria has been discussed at length. A number of scholars have conducted empirical studies, others developed theories and tools to be used in measuring and monitoring improvement on eliminating specific cultural practices. This scholarship is vitally important. They launch feminist and other anthropological works into an arena of anti-violence work which without a doubt have a significant impact and far-reaching repercussions for girls who experience violence in Nigeria. Yet, despite the systemic change over the past years, the problem of violence against girls in Africa, more specifically Nigeria, is still persistent within cultural communities. Building on the important foundational works of these authors, my dissertation analyses this problem from a different perspective. This thesis identifies several governance gaps within the Nigerian legal framework that needs to be addressed before existing legal mechanisms can adequately address the problem of violence against girls. To ensure a proper examination of the different dimensions and changing patterns of cultural violence against girls, the dissertation focuses on the practice of child marriages within Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria. The complexity of the issues addressed in this dissertation required a variety of theoretical tools to unpack the different fields of inquiry. The dissertation uses a critical legal studies and feminist framework in studying the problem of cultural violence against girls in Nigeria. It also uses textuality, a method of inquiry within Dorothy Smith’s feminist socio-legal methodology, to investigate the text-based organization of social policy in Nigeria to ultimately reveal a legal and political system used as an instrument for consolidating power and legitimizing anti-women principles as traditional values. Using these tools, the thesis analyzed the complexity of the problem of cultural violence through a focus on co-existing institutional frameworks, that is, formal and informal legal structures and the roles they play in shaping the experiences of girls within cultural communities.
32
Idahosa, Grace Ese-Osa. "Losing, using, refusing, cruising : first-generation South African women academics narrate the complexity of marginality." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013148.
Full textAbstract:
While existing literature shows a considerable increase in the numbers of women in academia research on the experiences of women in universities has noted their continued occupation of lower status academic positions in relation to their male counterparts. As the ladder gets higher, the number of women seems to drop. These studies indicate the marginalization of women in academic settings, highlighting the various forms of subtle and overt discrimination and exclusion women face in academic work environments. In this study I ask how academic women in South Africa narrate their experience of being ‘outside in’ the teaching machine. It has been argued that intertwined sexist, patriarchal and phallocentric knowledges and practices in academic institutions produce various forms of discrimination, inequality, oppression and marginalization. Academic women report feeling invisible and retreating to the margins so as to avoid victimization and discrimination. Others have pointed to the tension between the ‘tenure clock’ and the ‘biological clock’ as a source of anxiety among academic women. Where a masculinised presentation of the self is adopted as a solution to this dilemma, the devaluation of the feminine in the academic space is confirmed. However, experiences of academic women are not identical. In the context of studies showing the importance of existing personal and social resources, prior experience and having mentors and role models in the negotiation of inequality and discrimination, I document the narratives of women academics who are the first in their families to graduate with a university degree. These first-generation academic women are therefore least likely to have access to social and cultural resources and prior experiences that can render the academic space more hospitable for the marginalised. Employing Spivak’s deconstruction of the concept of marginalisation as my primary interpretive lens, I explore the way in which, in their narratives, first-generation academic women negotiate marginality. These narratives depict a marginality that might be described, following Spivak, as ‘outside/in’, that is, as complex and involving moments of accommodation and resistance, losses and gains, pain and pride.
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Maurtin-Cairncross, Anita. "Creating 'space' for publication: challenges faced by women academic staff members at historically Black South African universities." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2003. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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In this study an attempt was made to explore the challenges with regard to publications experienced by academic women at three selected Historically Black Universities (HBUs). Although based predominantly within a feminist qualitative metholodogical framework, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study. Based on the findings of the study, the recommendations illustrated participants' responses. Some of the recommendations illustrated participants' expressed need of staff development with a specific focus on training in publication skillsmentoring and support networks
assistance and support for their publishing venture at both institutional and departmental level and the development of strategies that would assist academic women in 'juggling' their personal and academic roles.
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Björkegren, Ylva. "Sida ur ett lilberalfeministiskt perspektiv : finns jämställdhetsidéer av liberalfeministiskt slag i Sidas bistånds - och utvecklingspolitik? /." Karlstad : Karlstad University. Faculty of Social and Life Sciences, 2008. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:5684/FULLTEXT01.
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Silva, Sheila Dias da. "Resistência feminina e feminismo africano em Without a Name de Yvonne Vera." Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, 2014. http://ri.ufmt.br/handle/1/378.
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Yvonne Vera é uma das romancistas africanas que mais se destacaram no cenário internacional da literatura de língua inglesa. A ficção é o veículo utilizado por ela para articular a experiência feminina reprimida e silenciada em seu país. Vera nos apresenta a sociedade zimbabuense, sob o olhar das mulheres, ou seja, é através de personagens femininas, acompanhadas por narradores provavelmente do mesmo sexo, que vivenciamos seus enredos e tramas. A escrita de Vera surge da necessidade de inverter as estruturas da opressão e dos estereótipos coloniais impostos às mulheres negras, o que reforça seu papel como uma escritora com ideais feministas. Em Without a name (1994), romance que analisamos nesta pesquisa, ela narra a trajetória de Mazvita, uma mulher que resiste a diversos tipos de violência, como, por exemplo, o estupro. Mazvita tenta superar o trauma e buscar um futuro melhor para si, mas é possível perceber a impossibilidade de esperança num cenário repleto de desolação causado pela guerra de libertação e pela opressão patriarcal africana. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a construção da resistência feminina nesse romance por meio da investigação da fragmentação corporal da personagem. Pretendemos estabelecer relações entre suas possibilidades de reação e agência e o estado alquebrado de seu corpo, ao mesmo tempo em que buscamos tecer considerações a respeito de suas conexões com o corpo social de sua coletividade. Também examinamos os modos como o feminismo africano é articulado nessa obra. Ao final de nossa análise, concluímos que, nesse romance, Vera elabora uma narrativa de aniquilação, retratando as tentativas de resistência e de superação da personagem como arruinadas em paralelismo com a debilitação de seu corpo e a desesperança do cenário em que está inserida.
Yvonne Vera is one of Africa’s most outstanding novelists in the international scene of the English language literature. Fiction is the vehicle used by her to articulate female experience repressed and silenced in her country. Vera portrays Zimbabwean society through women’s perspective, usually employing female narrators to tell her female characters’ stories. Vera’s writing arises from the need to reverse the structures of oppression and colonial stereotypes imposed on black women, reinforcing her role as a writer with feminist ideals. In Without a name (1994), the novel that is analyzed in this study, Vera brings the story of Mazvita, a woman who resists many types of violence, such as rape. Mazvita tries to overcome the trauma and seek a better future for her, but it is possible to realize the impossibility of hope in a world full of desolation caused by the war of liberation and African patriarchal oppression. The objective of this paper is to analyze the construction of female resistance in the novel through the investigation of the character’s body fragmentation. Some relationships between her possibilities of agency and reaction and the broken state of her body are also established in the current analysis. Similarly her connections with the social body of her community, as well as the ways in which African feminism is portrayed in this novel, also come under scrutiny. At the end of the analysis, it is possible to imply that Vera elaborates a narrative of annihilation in this novel, depicting the character’s attempts of resistance and overcoming as ruined in parallel with the weakening of her body and the hopelessness of her setting.
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Jangara, Juliana. "“Beautiful powerful you” : an analysis of the subject positions offered to women readers of Destiny magazine." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013395.
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Women's magazines are popular cultural forms which offer readers representations intended to advise women on how to work towards and achieve idealised femininities. They perform such a function within the wider socio-historical context of gender relations. In a country such as South Africa, where patriarchal gender relations have historically been structured to favour men over women and masculinity over femininity, the representation of femininity in contemporary women's magazines may serve to reinforce or challenge these existent unequal gender relations. Informed by a feminist poststructuralist understanding of the gendered positioning of subjects through discourse, this study is a textual analysis that investigates the subject positions or possible identities offered to readers of Destiny, a South African business and lifestyle women's magazine. Black women, who make up the majority of Destiny's readership, have historically been excluded from the formal economy. In light of such a background, Destiny offers black women readers, through its representations of well-known business women, possible identities to take up within the white male dominated field of business practice. The magazine also offers 'lifestyle content', which suggests to readers possible ways of being in other areas of social life. Through a method of critical discourse analysis, this study critically analyses the subject positions offered to readers of Destiny, in order to determine to what extent the magazine's representations of business women endorse or confront unequal gender relations. The findings of this study are that Destiny offers women complex subject positions which simultaneously challenge and reassert patriarchy. While offering readers positions from which to challenge race based gender discrimination – a legacy of the apartheid past – the texts analysed tend to neglect non-racially motivated gender prejudice. It is concluded that although not comprehensively challenging unequal gender relations, the magazine whittles away some tenets of patriarchy.
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Robert, Badou Koffi. "A consciência da subalternidade: trajetória da personagem Rami em Niketche de Paulina Chiziane." Universidade de São Paulo, 2010. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8156/tde-08022011-100027/.
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O nosso projeto de Mestrado em Estudos Comparados de Literaturas de Língua Portuguesa, com ênfase na literatura moçambicana, surgiu de uma constatação do quotidiano de mulheres africanas em geral. Decidimos trabalhar, no caso da nossa dissertação, a questão da trajetória da personagem Rami no romance Niketche: uma história de poligamia, para encarar o feminismo fora das bandeiras ocidentais tal como o conhecemos e dar ao termo uma conotação africana, destacando de fato certa singularidade na(s) ideologia(s) feminista(s): a consciência da subalternidade. Esta singularidade naquela(s) ideologia(s) vem se afastando da política que radicaliza o debate e o orienta na direção da negação do homem. O nosso crescente interesse pela escrita feminina nasceu do fato de, em quase todos os romances africanos, de autoria feminina, lidos, termos descoberto uma certa convergência na abordagem relativa à questão do estatuto das mulheres dentro das sociedades africanas. Neste contexto, a autora Paulina Chiziane, de Moçambique, evidencia bem, com o seu romance Niketche, uma história de poligamia, esse questionamento ao estatuto das mulheres, construindo personagens que vão, no decorrer da narrativa, realçar o contexto ideológico do feminismo africano. Três críticos nos ajudarão, com suas reflexões, para a aproximação da trajetória da personagem com a ideologia feminista africana. São eles: Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (2000) para a questão do feminismo africano, Antonio Candido (1963) e Roland Bourneuf (1976) para tratar das personagens.Our Project for a Masters Degree in Comparative Studies of Portuguese Language Literatures, emphasizing on Mozambican literature, arose from findings about African womens general everyday lives. We decided to work on the case of our dissertation, the question of the Rami characters trajectory in the romance Niketche: uma história de poligamia (Niketche: a story of polygamy) to confront feminism away from occidental standards such as we know it and give an African connotation to the term, outlining in fact a certain singularity in feminist ideology(ies): the cognizance of the inferiority. This singularity in that(those) ideology(ies) has been moving away from the policy that radicalizes the debate and orientates to the direction of mans denial. Our growing interest in the feminine writing was born from the fact of the discovery in nearly all African romances, of feminine authoring, read, a certain converging in the approach related to the question of the womens statute within the African societies. In this context the authoress Paulina Chiziane of Mozambique shows, well as her romance Niketche, uma história de poligamia, this questioning of the womens statute by building characters that will, during the unrolling of the story, highlight the ideological context of the African feminism. Thus, three critics will help us with their reflections to enable the approach of the trajectory of the character to the African feminist ideology. They are Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (2000) for the African feminist ideology, Antonio Candido (1963) and Roland Bourneuf (1976) to deal with the characters.
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Kainerugaba, Frank Odyek Godfrey. "The involvement of women in mission in the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA)." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40332.
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The principle purpose of the study was to investigate the role of women in the mission and
ministry of The Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA). The researcher raised the question
of why women are viewed as inferior within the LCSA, and whether this is Biblically supported. I
investigated the distinction between men and women with regard to the church culture, tradition,
pastoral office, priesthood, and authority within the LCSA. As a general theoretical framework, I
used two theories in church mission: (1) The unity of the Church and apostolic practice as
propounded by Schenk in 1983. (2) Paradigm shifts in theology: mission as ministry by the
whole people of God as propounded by Bosch in 1991. These theories explain the mission of
proclaiming the Gospel of God as belonging to everyone (both male and female) as His
servants in the Church.
To obtain people’s views and interpretations of Scriptures, culture, church practice, and the
social reality of women’s roles in the LCSA, focus-group and individual interviews were used to
gather qualitative data from 525 respondents. The data was collected and analyzed using the
descriptive qualitative research approach. Based on the research findings in Chapter 2 (pages
37-42), Chapter 6 (page140) presents proposals for the involvement of women in the LCSA.
The findings show that participants were concerned about the topic and those women’s rights
and voices are not yet acknowledged in many societies in Southern Africa. However, the scope
of the study is limited to the LCSA, and its findings cannot be generalized. Valuable insights
were gained into the church’s traditional construction of women’s roles in the LCSA, not allowing
women to preach the Gospel and to administer the Sacraments in the Church mission work.
From a missiological study perspective, the researcher recommended that women should be
allowed to participate fully in the Church mission work. Therefore, the Involvement of Women in
Mission in LCSA was an important dissertation research topic, affecting women in Southern
Africa particularly, and potentially, in the African continent at large.Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Science of Religion and Missiology
unrestricted
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Göransson, Carin. "Rejecting Violence, Reclaiming Men. : How Men's Work Against Men's Violence Challenges and Reinforces the Gender Order." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-100523.
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This study maps out and explores the reactions to and strategies of men working against men's violence against women and LGBTI people. It is based on interviews with men in gender-based violence prevention in South Africa and builds on previous research on women's organising and men's roles in feminism. It provides an analysis of dilemmas and challenges that they face and the strategies that they have developed, navigating in a feminist field and as men practising what could be seen as a challenge to the power and privileges of the social category of men. Using feminist theory and the theoretical concept “hegemony of men”, I critically interpret the potential for men to undermine men's privilege, arguing that efforts to create new masculinities reinforce the gender order and that the gendered context leaves little room for men's counter-hegemonic practices. I argue, finally, that a feminist emancipatory project is better developed by seeking identifications beyond the social category of men than within a framework of reforming masculinity.
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Adebayo, Adebanke. "West African Feminism| Maneuvering the Reality of Feminism Using Osun." Thesis, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10682016.
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West African Women writers are constantly looking for ways to maneuver the patriarchal system within their indigenous cultures. To say maneuvering implies the dilemma in consciously navigating patriarchal epistemology as West African women, which in reality is not exotic to other feminist struggles outside the continent. To deal with the dilemma of constantly maneuvering, this thesis suggest for an indigenous framework. It suggests Osun –a Nigerian goddess– as a response to the theoretical problems and as a methodology to navigating a postcolonial patriarchal worldview in order to express West African feminist discourse. The specificity of Osun is essential, but the fluidity of Osun across borders cannot be undermined as it paves the way for flexibility within feminist and gender discourse and draws upon various gender oppressed experiences. The idea of specificity and fluidity is fundamental to developing Osun as West African feminist discourse because of her ability to transcend space. The combination of specificity and fluidity are necessary within any feminist discourse as it allows for women from different regions to relate and align the tenets to their specific struggles found in the diversity of Osun.
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Ekblom, Johanna, and Hanna-Sofia Thomsson. "Living with Disability : A Literature Study and a Content Analysis of the Social Contexts of Women with Disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa." Thesis, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Globala studier, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-41323.
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Women with disabilities face multiple discrimination due to their gender and disability state. This is a literature study through the means of a content analysis of documents that explore the lives of women with disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study was conducted by reviewing documents surrounding the topics to display a representable picture of women with disabilities lives in the area and a discussion on what can be done to improve their situation. The study concluded that women with disabilities face a multitude of social barriers in their efforts to participate in their communities but also while conducting daily activities in their homes. The results of the study are categorised into different themes that represent aspects of social life. Additionally, the study discusses The social model of disability theory from the women’s perspective. Development focus in regards to disability is skewed, and in need of review, women with disabilities need to be a more prominent discussion in the development mainstream. This study is a response to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as the mention of persons with disabilities in Agenda 2030.
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Nkealah, Naomi Epongse. "Islamic culture and the question of women's human rights in North Africa : a study of short stories by Assia Djebar and Alifa Rifaat." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2006. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09102007-111635.
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Brum, Gabriela Eltz. "Sexual blinging of women : Alice Walker's african character tashi and issue of female genital cutting." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/4506.
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Este trabalho consiste em uma leitura das diferentes formas de representação que podem ser atribuídas à personagem Tashi, protagonista do romance Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), da escritora negra estadunidense Alice Walker. Antes desta obra, Tashi já havia aparecido em dois romances de Walker, primeiro em The Color Purple (1982), como personagem periférica, e depois como menção em The Temple of my Familiar (1989). Com Tashi, surge a temática da prática da circuncisão feminina, ritual ao qual a personagem se submete no início da idade adulta. O foco de observação do trabalho se volta para a maneira na qual a revolta da autora é transformada em um meio de representação criativa. Walker utiliza sua obra abertamente como instrumento ideológico para que o tema da “mutilação genital” (termo utilizado pela autora) receba ampla atenção da mídia e da crítica em geral. O propósito da investigação é avaliar até que ponto o engajamento social da autora contribui de uma forma positiva em seu trabalho e até que ponto o mesmo engajamento o atrapalha. Para a análise das diferentes questões relacionadas ao tema de “female genital cutting” (FGC), termo que eu utilizo no decorrer da pesquisa, os trabalhos de críticas e escritoras feministas como Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon e a egípcia Nawal El Saadawi serão consultados. Espero que esta dissertação possa contribuir como uma observação sobre como Alice Walker usa seu engajamento social na criação de seu mundo fictício.This thesis provides a reading of the different forms of representation that can be attributed to the character Tashi, the protagonist of the novel Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), written by the African American writer Alice Walker. Before this work Tashi had already appeared in two previous novels by Walker, first, in The Color Purple (1982) and then, as a mention, in The Temple of My Familiar (1989). With Tashi, the author introduces the issue of female circumcision, a ritual Tashi submits herself to at the beginning of her adult life. The focus of observation lies in the ways in which the author’s anger is transformed into a means of creative representation. Walker uses her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy openly as a political instrument so that the expression “female mutilation” (term used by the author) receives ample attention from the media and critics in general. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate to what extent Walker’s social engagement contributes to the development of her work and to what extent it undermines it. For the analysis of the different issues related to “female genital cutting”, the term I use in this thesis, the works of feminist critics and writers such as Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon and the Egyptian writer and doctor Nawal El Saadawi will be consulted. I hope that this thesis can contribute as an observation about Alice Walker’s use of her social engagement in the creation of her fictional world.
Este trabajo consiste en una lectura de las diferentes formas de representación que pueden ser atribuidas al personaje Tashi, protagonista de la novela Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), de la escritora negra norte-americana Alice Walker. Antes de esta obra, Tashi ya había aparecido en dos romances de Walker, primero en The Color Purple (1982), como personaje periferica y después como mención en The Temple of My Familiar (1989). Con Tashi, surge la temática de la circuncisión femenina, ritual al cual Tashi se somete en el principio de la edad adulta. El foco de observación del trabajo se vuelca sobre las maneras en las cuales la revuelta de la autora se tranforma en un medio de creación creativa. Walker utiliza su obra abiertamente como instrumento político para que el tema de la “mutilación genital” (termino utilizado por la autora) reciba amplia atención de los medios y crítica en general. El propósito de la investigación es evaluar hasta que punto el envolvimiento social de la autora contribuye positivamente o interfiere en el desarrollo de su trabajo. Para el análisis de las diferentes cuestiones relacionadas al tema de “female genital cutting” (FGC), termino utilizado por mi en el decorrer del trabajo, las obras de las críticas y escritoras feministas como Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon y la egipcia Nawal El Saadawi serán consultadas. Deseo que el trabajo realizado pueda contribuir como una observación sobre como Alice Walker utiliza su envolvimiento social en la creación de su mundo fictício.
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Makoba, Lerato Theodora. "The experiences of infertile married African women in South Africa : a feminist narrative inquiry." Diss., 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25080.
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This study explores the experiences of infertile married African women in South Africa. The study explores the women’s emotional experiences, their experiences of their relationships and the possible ways in which their culture may have influenced their experiences. The literature review gives an overview of female infertility, motherhood and feminism- from its conception to its current status in South Africa. The study is carried out in a clinical setting where the participants are already attending an infertility clinic for treatment. Six black women participate in this study and they are all married and experiencing primary infertility. This study does not include women experiencing secondary infertility because although they may presently be infertile, they have previously experienced one or more successful pregnancies. Therefore, primary infertility is chosen as the focus of this study because unlike secondary infertile women, primary infertile women have never experienced pregnancy and childbirth and thus their infertility is more noticeable and severe. The study is qualitative in nature and it is conducted within a feminist social constructionist research paradigm. This research paradigm is deemed to be more relevant in researching an issue pertaining to women, because feminist research enables social scientists to explore women’s social history, women’s perception of their own situation, their own subordination and their own resistance (Mies, 1993). Through social constructionism, the women are each able to make meaning out of their experiences and to include the influences of their culture, gender and social context in the construction of their experiences. Furthermore, since feminist research perspectives have supported the process of telling sensitive human stories as research, a narrative approach is employed in gathering information regarding the women’s experiences of being infertile. Thus, through telling their own self-narratives, the women are able to relate their experiences as well as the events that took place in their lives regarding their infertility. Structural narrative analysis as well as content narrative analysis are employed in the analysis of the women’s narratives. What emerges from their stories is the hope and the subsequent disappointment that follows from their countless visits and consultations with different health professionals, both western and traditional, as they search for pregnancy. It also emerges that in addition to their personal experiences, these women’s marital and familial relationships, as well as their extended social relationships, also contribute to the emotional distress that they experience as a result of their infertility. Although most of the women mainly report negative experiences, there are also some who report positive experiences and some form of support in their lives. It is hoped that the results obtained from this study will enable psychologists to intervene effectively and to work collaboratively with other health professionals towards delivering services aimed at assisting infertile African women medically, socially and psychologically.Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008.
Psychology
unrestricted
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Thalhuli-Nzuza, Mammatli. "BUA PUO PHA: A women’s Transgenerational Dialogue on the struggle between personal and cultural expectations in Ntoane Village." Thesis, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/29321.
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The research was submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johanneburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Drama ArtsThis research explores the tension between women’s personal wellbeing, expectations and desires and the expectations imposed by cultural practices, customs, beliefs and norms. We know that there are harmful traditional cultural practices which violate the rights of women and that policies and legislative instruments have been put in place to outlaw these practices. Examples of such practices in South Africa include marriage by abduction, child marriages and virginity testing (Wadesango, et al., 2009). So far, the nature of interventions that deal with women’s rights in rural South African communities tends to focus on advocacy and education, but fail to recognize the existence of intergenerational conflict among women. This conflict compromises the ability for interventions focusing on women’s rights to have sustainable impact on the community and gives opportunity for further violation of women’s rights through harmful traditional cultural practices. This study demonstrates and offers the use of Story, in Applied Theatre and Drama (Chinyowa, (2001), Fox (2006), Mutwa, (1965), as a tool to engage women on traditional cultural practices which violate their rights. It takes a Generational Approach (Howe and Strauss, 2007) to understanding the underlying causes of the continuation of such practices by engaging with the personal narratives of an intergenerational group of women from Ntoane Village, Limpopo, South Africa. Using Narrative Inquiry (Hinchman & Hinchman, 1997), Reflective Practice (Schon, 1987) and Narrative Practice (Gubrium and Holstein1998) in partnership with Story, women from Generation X and Y cohorts embarked on a four-day process which revealed how the characteristics and behavioural patterns of each generation impact and determine the positioning of women in the community and ultimately women’s experiences of traditional cultural practices. The research findings suggest that applying a Generational Approach to social development processes in rural South African communities, as it proves in this research, may contribute to the sustainability of sociological interventions in such environments.
NG (2020)
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Mmakola, Knightingale Lulu. "Women's representation in the South African National Defence Force : a case study of the Limpopo Province, South Africa." Thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/3368.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Sociology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020The aim of this study was to explore women representation in the South African National Defence Forces in the Limpopo Province. The Liberal Feminist perspective was employed as the prism through which the objectives of the study were achieved. In that regard, it was established that Sociology offers a distinctive way of seeing and explaining the social world within which we live in, as well as the events and institutions that shape it. Having noted the contribution and participation of women in the defence forces across the globe, the Liberal Feminists’ argument is that women have performed well, when under military necessity but still face persistent discrimination including the dismissal after war. The study employed a qualitative method and an exploratory design and data were collected through six in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion female military officers in different military ranks and analysed through Thematic Content Analysis. The study found that there are efforts that have been put in place to address issues pertaining to woman representation advocacy. The study also revealed that there are fewer women in the SANDF compared to men and some of the reasons posed include patriarchy and the command element that exist in the military. The study also found that there are also challenges and opportunities associated with women representation in the SANDF. Nevertheless, based on the findings of the study, the researcher developed a conceptual model for women representation in the SANDF. The study concludes that the dynamics around women representation, which includes the consequence of low representation of women; the dominance of men in the institution; the prevalence of patriarchy; and the incidence of institutional culture, are of paramount importance in understanding the challenges that women face in the military. Moreover, the study proposed areas for future research that emphasized the need to measure the impact of the influence of women compared to that of men. The study concluded by providing recommendations such as the need for the SANDF to embark on outreaches, the importance of information and provision of capacity building to the SANDF by the government. Keywords: Military, Feminism, Limpopo Province, South African National Defence Force
National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) and South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA)
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Ally, Yaseen. "Witchcraft accusations in South Africa : a feminist psychological exploration." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13863.
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Despite the rationalism implicit in contemporary thinking, in many parts of the world like South Africa, belief in witchcraft exists and is a core belief, influencing the world-view of many people. In these contexts, witchcraft is believed to be responsible for every social experience including, illnesses, sickness and death. The witch-figure, imbued with jealousy, is believed to derive power to harm others with witchcraft through supernatural capacity and an association with the Devil. Witchcraft, it seems represents a theory of misfortune guiding the interactions between people and provides explanations, steeped in the supernatural, for almost every misfortune.
Extending on the commonly held notion of violence against women, this doctoral study reflects witchcraft accusations and its violent consequences as an under-represented facet thereof. This follows the fact that historic and contemporary accounts of witchcraft position women as primary suspects and victims. Accused of witchcraft, many women face torture and ultimately death, even today.
In this study it is argued that witchcraft accusations result from within a social context, supporting gendered relations that are powered. To this end, I apply a feminist psychological approach as a theoretical lens, allowing us to see witchcraft accusations as one strategy among those supporting male domination.
In the first chapter, I outline the feminist psychological approach as an appropriate lens to view witchcraft-related violence. The understanding of witchcraft accusations gained through the application of feminist psychological theory is then applied in the second chapter, focusing on news reports. A focus on the newspaper representations of witchcraft violence is vital, given the media’s influential role in the lives of many. Attention is then focused on understanding of witchcraft held by community members, usually responsible for the violent attacks on those accused. The final chapter locates the witchcraft experience with women so accused.
The purposeful repetition of theoretical points made in each chapter was essential. The repetition enabled me to apply the theoretical lens appropriately for each paper and to elaborate on the fundamental premise the PhD argues towards. The reader’s attention is drawn towards awareness of this purposeful repetition of the theoretical lens. It is imperative as together and separately, the chapters in this PhD, function to accentuate on an expression of gendered violence, steeped in a tradition supporting male domination.Psychology
D.Litt. et Phil.
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Garman, Anthea Corinne. "What is really real? : A Feminist Critique of the Christian Symbolic Universe." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/663.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis critiques from a woman’s experience and perspective the Christian Symbolic Universe’s assertion of the transcendant truth, or the “really real” behind every day experience. My contention in this thesis is that the “really real” – the guiding and shaping force behind all experience – is knowledge created in the image of the elite males who crafted the Christian Symbolic Universe, and that not only does it not fit female experience, it also prioritises male experience in such a way that it damages women. Starting with my own experience I look at how the Christian Symbolic Universe functions as a tyranny for many women. I then examine how the process of meaning making happens, how vital it is to humans to have control and make sense of their experiences, and how those excluded from this process are also those who suffer most under the oppressive structures of society. I focus on symbols which are central to the teachings of the Christian Symbolic Universe which are particularly damaging for women. I look at the chaos and sense of meaninglessness that accompanies the process of critiquing the authority of the Christian Symbolic Universe. I conclude by looking at an identity for women like myself which allows us space to move and resources to make a difference for ourselves and for other women. I assert that everyone has the right to be spiritual, to have a symbolic universe which orients life in a purposeful, healthy, affirming way, and that everyone has the right to participate in the creation of meaning. I argue for the relativising of the category of truth so that truth takes its place alongside two other important categories: what is meaningful and what is powerful. I argue for abandoning the canon, the universal truth, and eternal symbols and rituals. The creation of meaning must be open to everyone in every generation. The “really real” is not a male God who controls and directs everything. The “really real” is the struggle to make sense of life and to have the power to do that in one’s own hands.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996
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Moothoo-Padayachie, Nitasha. "Constructing South African feminism(s) : a case study of Agenda, 1987-2007." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7675.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation provides an analysis of the Agenda construction of South
African Feminism(s). Agenda is a feminist, peer-reviewed SAPSE journal that
was launched as a publication in 1987 in South Africa. The Journal provides a
forum for a number of issues: the most important being the representation of
women's voices towards transforming unequal gender relations; and women's
unequal position in society, their visibility, struggles and problems in relation to
gender inequalities. The Journal also uses a format that encompasses creative
writing and original research that is intended to be accessible to a broad
readership. Over the years, the Journal has published broadly on issues ranging
from health, violence, sexuality, the media, poverty, labour, HIV/AIDS, rights,
sustainable development, citizenship, etc. This dissertation analyses how some
of these themes have been addressed by Agenda in terms of editorial content
and the subsequent impact these choices have had on creating a uniquely South
African Feminism. To determine the 'impact', the study adopts a content analysis
of the Journal, (Neuman, 1997). The content of the Journals, especially during
Apartheid (pre-1994) reflects a focus on the lived experiences of South African
women. It is hypothesised that Agenda has shifted its focus since Issue 20 (the
first Issue of 1994 aptly titled "Politics, Power and Democracy"). The argument in
the dissertation demonstrates that with the inclusion of South African women,
Agenda has steadily and consistently developed a discourse that is collaborative
and participatory, reflecting a hybrid of various earlier strands of Western originating
feminisms (such as radical, liberal, Marxist, socialist). This new discourse could be labelled South African Feminism(s), and such a conclusion is
investigated through close analyses of selected themes and issues covered by
the Journal copy.Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.
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Makama, Refiloe Euphodia. "Constructions, negotiations and performances of gender and power in lobolo: an African-centred feminist perspective." Thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/27480.
Full textAbstract:
This study aimed to explore how gender is constructed, negotiated and enacted in the customary practice of lobolo. Lobolo, sometimes incorrectly referred to as bridewealth or dowry is a practice that centres around the transference of wealth from the groom or a groom’s family to the bride’s family towards the formalisation of marriage. Framed within an African-centred feminist approach I analyse, through narrative discursive analysis, how 27 men and women ages 27 -71, from Johannesburg and Cape Town account for gender and power dynamics in their narratives of participating in lobolo. The African-centred feminist approach I employ critically engages with historical as well as present-day reproductions of patriarchy, capitalism, heteronormativity and other mechanisms of exclusion that are perpetuated through the cultural practice of lobolo. I show how masculinities and femininities are constituted, negotiated and disputed in the narratives of men and women who have participated in lobolo. By employing an African-centered feminist approach I show how gendered dynamics within the practice are shaped by historical and contemporary social, political and economic factors which enable and constrain the exercise of power in various ways. By exploring lobolo through an African-centered feminist narrative approach I demonstrate how the process is more than simply a transference of wealth but rather a complex practice that is used as an apparatus to exercise and expand power in the different stages of the lobolo process. Within this African-centered feminist approach, I argue that lobolo functions to legitimise particular gender positions that can be adopted through marriage; but it can also be used to challenge and contest these roles. The findings of this study suggested that the different stages and process of lobolo reflect a gendered script, which determines the position that men and women are able to adopt, and that this script sets the parameters for the ways in which these roles may be enacted. I find also that the meanings and descriptions of lobolo are embedded within, and reproduce gendered identities but that these identities are not fixed but rather are constantly renegotiated. I conclude that lobolo is not only a custom for formalising marriages but also a tool used by men and women to perform a range of sometimes contradictory functions, including at times establishing and strengthening hegemonic masculinities and femininities but at other times challenging and dismantling these.Psychology
Ph. D. (Psychology)