Academic literature on the topic 'Sotho Women'

Illness representations have been shown to differ across cultures. The aim of the study was to study disease terminology and lay prototypes among a Northern Sotho community in South Africa. The sample for a free listing of disease terms included 41 (55%) women and 34 (45%) men, with a mean age of 36 years (SD=5.6, range 18 to 75 years). The sample for pile sorting of disease terms included 80 Northern Sotho-speaking third-year students from the University of Limpopo; 44 women, 36 men, mean age, 23.4 years (SD=3.4). From free listing of disease terms 50 were selected for pile sorting. Using hierarchical cluster analysis the following clusters could be identified: (1) respiratory problems, (2) internal body problems and sexually transmitted diseases, (3) chronic diseases and head diseases, (4) child diseases and mental problems, (5) child diseases and cancer, (6) feet problems, (7) gastrointestinal diseases. There was homogeneity of features within cluster and difference between clusters.

The aim of this study was to compile a culture specific taxonomy of human values in Northern Sotho. Two raters extracted a comprehensive list of value descriptive nouns from two Northern Sotho dictionaries. The list comprised a total of 210 terms. Four hundred individuals, 256 men and 144 women, from the Limpopo Province of the Republic of South Africa, participated. Their mean age was 24.6 years (SD = 7.9). The participants rated these concepts on an 11-point-scale with regard to their subjective importance as guiding motives in life. The principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded five factors which explained 42.3% of total variance: (I) Religiosity and Support, (II) Solidarity (ukuzwdana, ubunye or ubudlelwane), (III) Conformity and Benevolence, (IV) Leadership and Achievement, and (V) Human Enhancement. With respect to cross-cultural comparisons the outcome of the study shows that in Northern Sotho, religious themes and social commitment play a more important role than in German, and that religious issues correlate with social concerns. The other dimensions share some aspects with the German factors but mainly reflect the religious and collective values of traditional African culture.

Traditional cultural practices reflect the values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods often spanning generations. Every social grouping in the world has specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members, while others have become harmful to a specific group, such as women. These harmful traditional practices include early and forced marriages (Ukuthwala as practised currently), virginity testing, widow's rituals, 'u ku ngena' (levirate and sororate unions[1]), female genital mutilation[2] (FGM), breast sweeping/ironing, the primogeniture rule, practices such as 'cleansing' after male circumcision, and witch-hunting.[1] Levirate unions occur when the deceased's surviving male relative inherits the widow of the deceased. Sororate unions occur where the widower is inherited by the deceased wife's surviving female relative. The inherited widow or widower becomes the wife or husband to the surviving relative of the deceased.[2] FGM is not just the cutting of the clitoris; it includes disfigurement, and the changing of the form or elongation of the labia as practiced by Tsonga and Sotho communities.

Background: This study researched the perceptions of patients diagnosed with diabetes concerning diabetes-related health communication strategies in the Free State province in South Africa. The prolongation and quality of life of patients diagnosed with diabetes are affected by lifestyle choices. An enabler of risk reduction is health communication which informs, influences and motivates individuals to adopted health-focused lifestyles.Aim: This study sought to describe the perceptions of patients regarding diabetes-related health communication strategies in the Free State, South Africa.Setting: This study was carried out in primary health care centres and community health care centres within the Free State province in South Africa.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research design was used in this study. Thirty-four patients diagnosed with type two diabetes for at least a year were purposively included in this study. Semi-structured interviews in Afrikaans, English, Sotho and Xhosa were conducted. Data analysis was through inductive reasoning and thematic analysis.Results: The majority of the respondents were older women having been diagnosed with diabetes for more than 5 years, with at least primary school education and of diverse South African ethnicities. The main prompting questions operationalised the term ‘perception’, probing their feelings, experiences and knowledge of health-related communication strategies as presented by a variety of information sources. After recording interviews, data were analysed according to themes, categories and sub-categories.Conclusions: The study highlights factors that encourage patients to seek help and foster attitudes of compliance. Practical problems regarding the management of diabetes are underlined. The role of family, as well as the patient–caregiver relationship, in the acceptance and management of the disease is revealed. Societal perception of male symptomology is shown. The study offers information to stakeholders and health care workers for continued successful management of diabetes in communities.

Il saggio propone un'analisi della narrazione utilizzata nel quadro degli scenari di policy orientati all'integrazione dei migranti relativamente alle questioni di genere e alla diversità in al-cuni documenti di particolare in questo ambito dell'intervento pubblico. L'analisi delle politiche pubbliche nei settori dell'integrazione e dell'uguaglianza di genere sviluppata utilizzando la rap-presenta il quadro di riferimento teorico proposto per la lettura in chiave critica di una selezione di documenti dell'UE adottati tra il 2004 e il 2018 relativi al tema dell'integrazione. È del tutto evidente la tendenza da parte delle istituzioni europee a disegnare in questi documenti scenari di policy nell'area dell'integrazione prevalentemente neutri sotto il profilo delle implicazioni di gene-re, mentre in chiave interserzionale, il binomio gender+inequalities sembra differire in modo si-gnificativo a seconda del metaframe entro il quale è inquadrato lo stesso discorso dell'integrazione, ovvero se prevalgano logiche umanitarie, securitarie piuttosto che economiche.

The purpose of this study is to provide greater insight into the power of native women as understood by sixteenth century North American conquistadors by juxtaposing two analogous but geographically distinct settings. Depictions of women in New France by Jacques Cartier, Samuel Champlain and their followers in the northern borderlands of North America are compared to those depictions made by Hernando de Soto, Pedro Menendez de Avilés and their contemporaries during the same general period in the southern borderlands (Florida). The accounts of these figures, who came from varied backgrounds and promoted differing world views, provide evidence for the earliest foundations of the “imperial gaze” in reference to distant poles along North America's eastern seaboard. They also demonstrate the key role that native women played in orchestrating intercultural encounters with conquistadors during the sixteenth century.

Is there a specific lesbian theatre aesthetic? If so, is butch and femme at the heart of it? Or androgyny? Or the freedom-confinement dynamic? Or, on another level, distancing role from ‘essential being’, and ‘woman’ and ‘man’ as social constructs from male and female as biological entities? By focusing on a number of lesbian texts, including her own work, Nina Rapi explores both the theory and practice of an emerging aesthetic that reveals the ‘performance of being’, seeking to ‘shift the axis of categorization’, and so to create a new and exciting theatre language. Nina Rapi is a playwright and translator whose theatre work includes Ithaka (Riverside Studios, June 1989; Link Theatre, staged readings, April 1992; published in Seven Plays by Women, 1991), Critical Moments, a trilogy of shorts (Soho Poly Theatre, June 1990), Johnny Is Dead (First One Person Play Festival, Etcetera Theatre, March 1991), Dreamhouse (Oval House and Chat's Palace, April-May 1991), Dance of Guns (touring production, including King's Head and Jackson's Lane Theatres, April-May 1992), and Dangerous Oasis (Finborough, March 1993).

This essay aims to explore the political messages found in the work of Soth Polin, one of Cambodia’s influential writers in the 1970s. Soth’s short story, Sramol Ptī Oey..Khluon Ūn Rahaek [My Dear Husband…My Body Was Torn Apart] illustrates how Cambodia was in a state of physical and moral decay during the Vietnam War as a result of attacks from Vietnamese Communists and American influence over the Cambodian leaders during the Vietnam War. In Soth’s stories, pornographic, philosophical and political elements are artistically interwoven. The author uses women’s bodies and sexuality as both a site of patriarchal control and as a site of negotiation between the female subject and the patriarchal power. The feminised body of Cambodia symbolizes the political oppression of foreign powers and resistance to these powers. Soth’s text shows the continuity of traditional concepts and new creativity in modern Cambodian literature.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the history and rituals of Japanese Soto Zen nuns and American Soto Zen ordained women in order to examine the motivations behind each group’s practices and distinguish the differences in the intent and practice of American Soto women’s rituals, specifically their reactions to the influence of feminism, and the effects of American syncretization in order to identify if a schism or a continuation is occurring within the Soto Zen tradition. Along with a survey of published research, interviews were conducted with two scholars and prominent ordained Soto practitioners–eight female and three male. Findings suggest that while maintaining strict adherence to specific orthodox rituals, American Soto women also reinterpret Soto traditions and adapt new practices to address the needs of American women’s practice. Findings further indicate the effects of American syncretization in nurturing a legitimate albeit uniquely American expression of Soto Zen.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
The objective of this study is to characterize the wedding consumption performed by women, during the liminal transition concerning the rite of passage, to identify emerging vulnerabilities that affect this consumption relation. In this way, theories were approached regarding the concepts of the consumer vulnerability, conspicuous consumption, consumption of rituals and liminal transition, to contextualize the relations between the wedding and possible experiences of vulnerable consumption, which resulted in a conceptual model of research. The adopted methodology was oriented by the interpretative paradigm with the use of qualitative approach. The chosen method was the videography, through individual interviews, primer technique, and observational videography, complementary and partially, which provide the combination of discourses about the consumption related to the wedding, seeking to understand the experiences of vulnerability, with the observations of the consumption situations experienced. Therefore, eleven women were interviewed, of which four were followed in certain interactions with providers. Subsequently, the transcriptions of the interviews and dialogs between the brides and the providers resulted in the following dimensions, based on the conceptual model of research: the wedding and the vulnerability of the brides in the consumption of the wedding rites. In every dimension are presented interrelated categories which were a result from the analyzed discourses based on discourse analysis. The results of this research indicate that experiences of vulnerability occur when the brides do not understand their preferences, which often make them unable to act on behalf of them. It is evidenced that the relations among the symbolic consumption, conspicuous consumption, consumption of rituals influence possible relations of vulnerable consumption and that the women emotional state is connect to the liminal transition during the wedding rite of passage. Nevertheless, the brides are not inert to situations of vulnerability, since it is possible to observe responses such as negotiation, adaptation and conformation.
O presente estudo tem como objetivo caracterizar o consumo do casamento realizado pelas mulheres, durante o estado transitório liminar característico do rito de passagem, a fim de identificar vulnerabilidades emergentes que afetem essa relação de consumo. Desse modo, foram abordadas as teorias referentes aos conceitos de vulnerabilidade do consumidor, consumo conspícuo, consumo de rituais e transição liminar, a fim de contextualizar as relações entre o casamento e possíveis experiências de consumo vulnerável, o que resultou em um modelo conceitual da pesquisa. O método foi orientado com base no paradigma interpretativo, sendo esta uma pesquisa qualitativa. Em termos procedimentos metodológicos, utilizou-se a videografia, por meio de entrevistas individuais, como técnica principal, e videografia observacional, de maneira complementar e parcial, por proporcionarem a combinação dos discursos sobre o consumo relativo ao casamento, buscando apreender as experiências de vulnerabilidade, com as observações das situações de consumo vivenciadas. Assim, foram entrevistadas onze mulheres, entre recém-casadas e noivas, entre as quais quatro foram acompanhadas em determinadas interações com fornecedores. Posteriormente, as transcrições das entrevistas e diálogos entre as noivas e os fornecedores resultaram nas seguintes dimensões, com base no modelo conceitual da pesquisa: o casamento e a vulnerabilidade das noivas no consumo dos ritos do casamento. Em todas as dimensões são apresentadas categorias interrelacionadas que resultam dos discursos analisados por meio da análise de discurso. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que experiências de vulnerabilidade ocorrem na medida em que as noivas não compreendem as suas preferências, o que muitas vezes as tornam incapazes de agir em prol delas. É evidenciado ainda que as relações entre os consumos simbólico, conspícuo e ritualístico influenciam possíveis relações de consumo vulnerável e que o estado emocional das mulheres encontra-se vinculado à transição liminar durante o rito de passagem do casamento. Não obstante, as noivas não se mostram inertes às situações de vulnerabilidade, sendo possível observar respostas como negociação, adaptação e conformação.

AFRIKAANS: In hierdie studie is daar gelet op MIV en VIGS en die geslagsrolle van die Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vrou in die Limpopo Provinsie. Daar is spesifiek gefokus op watter MIV- en VIGS-verbandhoudende risiko’s voorkom rondom die geslagsrolle van die Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vrou in die Limpopo Provinsie. Sewe relevante geslagsrolle van die vrou is geïdentifiseer vir ondersoek, en het die vrou as individuelewese, seksuelewese, huweliksmaat, moeder, versorger, enkelouer en broodwinner ingesluit. Verbandhoudende aspekte van hierdie rolle is ook ondersoek en het mishandeling van die vrou, die vrou se opvoeding, geloof, kultuur, gesondheid, geslag en spesifieke beradingsbehoeftes ingesluit. Waar geslag ‘n sosiale- en kulturelestruktuur is en ook kultuur-spesifiek is, was dit van belang om die vrou se geslagsrolle en die verbandhoudende aspekte daarvan binne die vrou se relevante kulturelekonteks te ondersoek. Die navorsingsmetodologie vir hierdie studie is duidelik omskryf en uiteengesit, waarna verskeie literatuurhoofstukke volg. Die literatuurhoofstukke fokus op MIV en VIGS as medieseverskynsel en die beradingsaspekte wat daarmee verband hou. In die literatuurhoofstukke is daar ook gelet op die Afrika-kultuur en geslagsrolvorming, waarna die sewe geslagsrolle van die vrou en die verbandhoudende aspekte daarvan bespreek is. Die literatuurhoofstukke voorsien die nodige agtergrond wat aanduidend is van spesifieke MIV-risiko’s wat deur Afrika-vroue in hul geslagsrolle beleef word. Navorsingsbevindings vir hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is met behulp van tabelle voorgestel wat volledig bespreek is, ten einde te bepaal watter spesifieke MIV-risiko’s deur Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vroue in die Limpopo Provinsie beleef word. Navorsingsbevindings vir hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is met behulp van tabelle voorgestel wat volledig bespreek is, ten einde te bepaal watter spesifieke MIV-risiko’s deur Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vroue in die Limpopo Provinsie beleef word. Hierdie bevindings het getoon dat Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vroue in die Limpopo Provinsie veral kwesbaar is vir MIV waar hierdie vroue ‘n tekort aan mag het om te onderhandel vir veilige seksuele-omgang en kondoomgebruik. ‘n Raamwerk vir kultuursensitiewe MIV- en VIGS-berading is ontwikkel, en bestaan uit inligting bekom vanuit die empiriese ondersoek, praktykervaring asook die navorser se kennis van relevante literatuur. Die raamwerk vir kultuursensitiewe MIV- en VIGS-berading is op wyses aangebied wat as gepas beskou word vir die spesifieke probleme of behoeftes van die vrou, en bestaan uit afmerklyste, kolomme en gevallestudies. Die raamwerk is ook saamgestel sodat dit deur die maatskaplike werker, MIV-berader en ander lede van die multidissiplinêrespan benut kan word tydens hulpverlening aan MIV-positiewe Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vroue. Ten slotte is ‘n algemene samevatting, gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings gemaak na aanleiding van relevante bevindings vanuit die studie. Die navorsingsvraag vir hierdie studie in geheel is beantwoord deurdat die empiriese ondersoek sowel as die raamwerk vir kultuursensitiewe MIV- en VIGS-berading, die MIV- en VIGS-verbandhoudende risiko’s rondom die geslagsrolle van die Noord-Sotho/Tswanasprekende MIV-positiewe vrou in die Limpopo Provinsie duidelik geïdentifiseer en logies gegroepeer het, en gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings gebied het. Hierdie studie het getoon dat elk van die vrou se sewe geslagsrolle, asook die verbandhoudende aspekte daarvan, verband hou met spesifieke MIV-risiko’s wat op fisiologiesesosiale-, psigologiese-, ekonomiese- en kulturele vlak beleef word deur Noord-Sotho/Tswana-sprekende vroue in die Limpopo Provinsie. ENGLISH: This study considered HIV and AIDS and the gender roles of Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo Province. Specific focus was placed on HIV and AIDS related risks surrounding the gender roles of Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo Province. Seven relevant gender roles were identified for investigation; these include women as individual beings, sexual beings, wives, mothers, caregivers, single parents and breadwinners. Related aspects of these roles were also investigated and include the abuse of women, education, religion, culture, health, gender and specific counselling needs. It was of importance to examine gender roles and the related aspects in the woman’s relevant cultural context since gender is seen as a social and cultural construct and is also culture-specific. The research methodology for this study was clearly defined and outlined. The literature chapters focussed on HIV and AIDS as medical phenomenon and related counselling aspects. The literature chapters also considered the African culture and gender role development, the seven gender roles of women and aspects related to these. The literature chapters provided the necessary background which is indicative of the specific HIV risks which are experienced by African women in their gender roles. Research findings for this qualitative study were presented using tables which were fully discussed in the study in order to determine the specific HIV risks experienced by Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo province. These findings showed that Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo Province are particularly vulnerable to HIV as these women experience a lack of power to negotiate for safe sex and condom use. A framework for culturally sensitive HIV and AIDS counselling was developed and consists of information obtained from the empirical investigation, practical experience and the researcher’s knowledge of relevant literature. The framework for culturally sensitive HIV and AIDS counselling was presented in a manner which is suited to the specific problems and needs of these women and consists of tick-mark lists, columns and case studies. The framework was also compiled in such a manner that it may be utilised by the social worker, HIV counsellor and other members of the multidisciplinary team during the counselling of HIV positive Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women. A general summary, conclusions and recommendations were finally made following the relevant findings of the study. The research question for this study was fully answered in that the empirical investigation as well as the framework for culturally sensitive HIV and AIDS counselling identified, logically grouped and made conclusions and recommendations about the HIV and AIDS related risks surrounding the gender roles of Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo Province. This study showed that each of the seven gender roles of women as well as the related aspects of these roles are associated with specific HIV risks which are experienced on a physiological, social, psychological, economical and cultural level by Northern Sotho/Tswana speaking women in the Limpopo Province.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Social Work and Criminology
PhD
Unrestricted

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This study is about translation procedures in A Midsummer Night´s Dream by William Shakespeare on its five translations published in Brazil by Carlos Alberto Nunes (1955), F. C. Medeiros Mendes and Oscar (1969); Beatriz Viégas-Faria (2001); Heliodora Barbara (2004) and Erick Ramalho (2006). Our intention here is also verifying in these translations, comparing to the source text, speeches that report the development of the women‟s profile in Shakespearean work in analysis. From the assumption that each translator has his own characteristics and style, we have checked in this study the translation strategies which had been chosen and used by each author in their translation process. We know that each translation was produced in different social and historical contexts, however, for a greater comprehension of its specificities, this study had as a theoretical basis, the methodological model of Lambert and van Gorp (1985), thereby, justifying with greater accuracy and efficiency the choices of each author‟s translation procedures. This analysis had been developed in three stages: (i) identifying fragments that address the woman‟s profile in Shakespeare work, (ii) checking fragments (in the target texts) of each possible statement or word, previously highlighted, about woman‟s profile, (iii) analyze the translation procedures observed before, and the general effects they may cause in different translations, in order to analyze how the translations may maintain, attenuate, intensify or omit, among other things, discursive aspects about the construction of the female profile once verified on the source text. Therefore, this study followed the scheme of strategies developed by MárciaParedesNunes (2007), it consists of translation strategies relevant for this research. Our theoretical referential is based on the Descriptive Translation Studies, about theories and approaches from authors such as Even-Zohar (1990), Toury (1980, 1995, 1998), Lefevere (1990) and Venuti (2002). We have noticed that all translators have tried to be as faithful as possible and keep in their translations the original proposal, always looking for equivalent terms between the source text and the target text, and worrying about the lexicon, the semantic and with the linguistic varieties present in the Shakespearean text, they also (re)create the play‟s scenic aspects. Whereas, the translation studies are still recent in Brazil, this research does not stop here. New studies will come contributing to the increase and diffusion of this new field of scientific and academic research.
Esta pesquisa versa sobre procedimentos tradutórios em Sonho de Uma Noite de Verão de William Shakespeare em cinco traduções publicadas no Brasil, por Carlos Alberto Nunes (1955); F. C. Medeiros e Oscar Mendes (1969); Beatriz Viégas-Faria (2001); Barbara Heliodora (2004) e Erick Ramalho (2006). Pretende-se aqui, também, verificar nessas traduções, comparando-se ao texto original as implicações de discursos que marcam a construção do perfil da mulher na obra shakespeariana em análise. Partindo do pressuposto de que cada tradutor possui suas particularidades e estilo próprio, ocupamo-nos das estratégias de tradução escolhidas por cada um deles. Como cada trabalho se deu em contexto históricosocial distinto, adotamos, para melhor compreensão das especificidades, como base teórica neste estudo, o modelo metodológico de Lambert e van Gorp (1985) para, desse modo, acessarmos, com maior rigor e eficácia, a escolha dos procedimentos tradutórios de cada autor. Este estudo apresenta-se em três etapas: (i) identificação de fragmentos que retratam o perfil da mulher na obra de Shakespeare; (ii) localização das traduções (nos textos-alvo), de cada possível afirmação ou palavra sobre a mulher, previamente destacadas nos fragmentos e, (iii) análise dos procedimentos tradutórios observados e os efeitos gerais que estes provocam nas diferentes traduções, a fim de verificar em que medida as versões mantêm, atenuam, intensificam ou omitem os aspectos discursivos relacionados à construção do perfil feminino antes percebido no original. Para tanto, nos apoiamos no esquema de estratégias elaborado por Márcia Paredes Nunes (2007), constituído por estratégias tradutórias relevantes para esta pesquisa. Nosso referencial teórico funda-se nos Estudos Descritivos da Tradução, com base nas teorias e abordagens de autores como Even-Zohar (1990), Toury (1980, 1995, 1998), Lefevere (1990) e Venuti (2002). Observamos que ambos os tradutores buscaram da maneira mais precisa possível serem fiéis e conservar em suas traduções a proposta do original, buscando sempre termos equivalentes entre o texto-fonte e o texto-meta, preocupando-se com o léxico, com o semântico e com as variedades linguísticas presentes no texto shakespeariano, além de (re)criarem os aspectos cênicos da peça.Considerando que os estudos da tradução ainda são recentes, no Brasil, esta pesquisa não para por aqui. Novos estudos virão no intuito de contribuir com a ampliação e difusão deste novo campo de investigação cientifica-acadêmico.

Este foi um estudo de natureza qualitativa, que teve como objetivo compreender, a partir da experiência de mulheres que se tornaram mães na adolescência, o significado da maternidade no contexto de vida destas mães. Participaram 14 mulheres na faixa etária de 20 a 24 anos, residentes na periferia de Maceió, capital do estado de Alagoas. A coleta de informação foi realizada por meio de entrevistas, utilizando a história oral temática como procedimento metodológico. Foram construídas narrativas, a partir das histórias de vida das mulheres, posteriormente, analisadas à luz do referencial de gênero. Observamos que as entrevistadas tiveram sua iniciação sexual durante o período de namoro quando não haviam recebido orientações prévias sobre sexualidade ou saúde reprodutiva. Algumas mulheres conviviam com seus parceiros quando aconteceu a gravidez, porém, mesmo assim, consideraram esse fato inesperado. Houve aceitação da gravidez pela maioria delas, e também ocorreu a união, ainda que não de maneira legalizada, de muitos casais que não viviam juntos. Tentativas de abortamento, quando da não-aceitação imediata do parceiro, foram relatadas. As questões de gênero mostram-se presentes nas relações conjugais, com os parceiros figurando como provedores da família e as mulheres mantidas sob sua dependência, centradas no ambiente doméstico, assumindo responsabilidade pelo cuidado da casa, dos filhos e do companheiro. Os homens agiam mais livremente, mantendo relações extraconjugais e chegavam a agredir suas mulheres, em casa. Apesar de ressentidas com essa atitude dos companheiros, elas mantinham o relacionamento com eles. As entrevistadas deixaram explícito que lamentavam a perda da liberdade, do lazer, da oportunidade de trabalho e de estudo ao assumirem a maternidade. Por outro lado, enfatizaram seu não-arrependimento por terem levado a gravidez até o fim. Assim o cotidiano dessas mulheres parece centralizado no cuidar dos filhos, conscientes de que são elas as principais responsáveis por eles, voltando todos os seus projetos de vida para este cuidado. A vida dessas mães é marcada pelas condições de desigualdade em que vivem, social-econômica-cultural e de gênero. Dessa forma, apesar de seus desejos manifestos elas encontram poucas oportunidades objetivas de romperem com o contexto de vida em que estão inseridas.
A qualitative study, which aimed at comprehending, by the experiences of women who became mother in adolescence, the meaning of maternity in their context of life. Fourteen women from 20 to 24 years old, who lived in Maceio suburbs, capital of Alagoas State, took part in the study. The information collection was carried out through interviews, using thematic oral history as methodological procedure. We built narratives from these women’s life history and, later, we analyzed these narratives based on gender referential. We observed that interviewees had their sexual initiation during dating period when they had received no previous orientation concerning sexuality or reproductive health. Some women lived with their partners when pregnancy occurred, even though they considered it to be unexpected. The great majority of them accepted pregnancy, and there were also unions, even if they were not legalized, of many couple who did not lived together. There were reports of abortion attempts when the partner did not accept the pregnancy immediately. Gender questions are present in conjugal relations, with the partners figuring as family providers and women dependent on them, focused on domestic environment, taking the responsible by home, kids and partner’s care. Men acted freely, maintaining extra-conjugal relations and hitting their wives at home. Although resentful with their partner’s attitude, they maintained the relation. The interviews made explicit the lamentation with the lost of freedom, working and studying opportunities when assuming maternity. On the other hand, they emphasized their non-regret for taking their pregnancy till the end. This way, their daily living seems to be centered on their kids caring and they are conscious that they are the main responsible by them, turning their projects of life for this care. These mothers’ lives are marked by inequality, social, economical, cultural and gender conditions in which they live. This way, despite their manifested desire, they find few objective opportunities of breaking with life context in which they are inserted.

The study investigated the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women. The aim was to describe the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women in order to contribute to the identification of guidelines for a teaching programme for both midwives and traditional birth attendants. A non-experimental, qualitative research approach, which was exploratory-descriptive and contextual in nature, guided the researcher to explore and describe the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Sotho antenatal women as well as traditional birth attendants. Six themes emerged from the study through the interviews:  the nature of pregnancy  prescriptive practices  restrictive practices  sexual activity  the practice of clinic attendants  the practice of attending traditional birth attendants
Health Studies
M.A (Department of Health Studies)

M.A.
This study deals with the portrayal of female characters in three novels of K.E. Ntsane. The novels are Masoabi ngwana Mosotho wa kajeno, Nna Sajene Kokobela, C.I.D. and Bao batho. CHAPTER ONE This chapter deals with the aim and scope of the study, approach, the biography of K.E. Ntsane and his contribution to Sesotho literature, a short summary of the three novels, the cultural image of a Mosotho woman and the conclusion. CHAPTER TWO This chapter consists of the origin of feminism and its effect on women. The definition and method of characterization are discussed in relation to the female characters in selected works. The woman in a Sesotho culture is examined in some detail. CHAPTER THREE In chapter 3, the portrayal of female characters in the novels is discussed. Their behaviour as well as the author's attitude is examined. CHAPTER FOUR Chapter 4 deals with Ntsane's style in the three novels. CHAPTER FIVE This chapter is a general conclusion to this study.

M.A. (African Languages)
This research concentrates primarily on feminism and attempts to study it in relation to Northern Sotho literature. As Kekana is undoubtedly the first author to deal with this topic in her novel - NONYANA YA TOKOLOGO (The Bird of Freedom), this proves the fact that in Northern Sotho literature feminism is still at its infancy stage, hence, the topic of this research - KEKANA'S NONYANA YA TOKOLOGO AS REPRESENTATIVE OF EMERGING FEMINISM IN NORTHERN SOTHO LITERATURE. Feminism emerges in Northern Sotho literature for the following two reasons: firstly, Kekana is the first writer in Northern Sotho to show vested interest in the topic; secondly, though her efforts in pioneering this path are appreciated, she should have clearly shown the way women should go to be liberated from patriarchal prison. After demonstrating so well that men oppress women in a patriarchal society, she dampens women's morale to aspire to freedom by returning Taamane to her oppressor- Tshaledi.

The study is concerned with deconstructing the effects of patriarchal discourses on the identities of women experiencing domestic violence in marital relationships. It is explored within a feminist pastoral care framework within the Basotho culture. This is seen through the lens of Basotho culture and the Christian church as understood in an emerging postmodern culture. The study explores and deconstructs patriarchal beliefs around the identities of Basotho women experiencing domestic violence in marital relationships through discursive conversations. This study has sought to benefit any Mosotho woman who suffers under the control and abuse of her husband. The study does this by giving her a voice to deconstruct the silencing and disempowering patriarchal stories/identities. In turn it hopefully allows her to construct her own empowering preferred multiple identities without blaming anybody. However, by the very nature of this study,’ the effects of patriarchy on identities of Basotho women experiencing domestic violence in marital relations’ there was partiality and subjectivity throughout my discussions and reflections, as I found it hard to stand back from my resentment.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology)