Dissertations / Theses: 'Women's rights – South Africa – Johannesburg'

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Makota, Gillian. "Narratives of women victims of GBV-POWA Johannesburg women's writing project, 2008-2013." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6432.

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Gender-based Violence (GBV) has emerged as a major issue on the international human rights agenda and a major public health challenge throughout the world. A large proportion of the violence committed against women is perpetrated by their intimate partners. According to the World Health Organization’s Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence, it is estimated that approximately 10% to 60% of married women have experienced physical intimate-partner violence during their lifetimes (Garcia-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise and Watts, 2006). Once the extent of GBV in South Africa was realised interventions were put in place to address the issue and the Domestic Violence Act No 116 of 1998 (DVA) was instituted by the South African government, aimed at protecting and combating violence against women. The notion of ending GBV was also acknowledged by the late former South African president, Nelson Mandela (Nelson Mandela’s first State of the Nation Address in Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, 24 May 1994) said: “Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression." (www.ehow.com, first accessed 9 August, 2013). People Opposing Woman Abuse (POWA), a Johannesburg-based non-governmental organization (NGO), initiated interventions to address GBV. POWA offers services to women in South Africa (SA) who have experienced domestic violence, sexual harassment or rape and other forms of violence, by aiming to creating a safe society where women are powerful, self –reliant and respected. Driven by the need to create a collective space through which women could share their stories of surviving GBV, POWA established the Women’s Writing Project (WPP) in 2005. The project publishes annual anthologies with specific themes for a particular year, giving women survivors a platform and opportunity to tell their stories as an important part of the healing process. Though the first anthology was published in 2005, this thesis only provides an analysis of the POWA WWP anthologies from 2008-2013. The notion that narratives can be used as therapeutic tools had prompted the researcher to use existing narratives as a basis to investigate GBV. The study is a qualitative, interpretive study, using content analysis as a method and working within the framework of the Ecological model (1999:18) which talks about the multi-faceted nature of GBV. A total of 65 English narratives, 13 per anthology, by survivors of GBV were used and common themes that emerged were identified to obtain accounts of these selected women’s perceptions, experiences and articulations on GBV. Informed by a theoretical framework consisting of Heise, Ellsberg and Gottemoeller’s Ecological model (1999:18), the USAID GBV Life cycle model (2009:15) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) GBV health effects document (2005:23), the researcher extracted the main overarching themes which emerged from the women’s narratives. Drawing on the study’s content analysis methodology and the subsequent emerging main narrative themes, the researcher could draw certain conclusions about general similarities in the experiences and perceptions about GBV of the women who participated in POWA’s Johannesburg-based five-year Women’s Writing Project (2008-2013). The most salient of these conclusions are that the following issues are major factors contributing to GBV in the specific sample group, and by assumption also among the larger population that it represents: alcohol abuse and the absence of mother figures. Conclusions about the effects of GBV include that most women suffer from psychological health effects due to GBV experiences. Based on the selected narratives in this study the researcher could conclude that self-narrative storytelling and the recounting of traumatic experiences had therapeutic potential in the treatment and recovery of survivors of GBV. Many of the narrators said that structured self-narration and the publication of their stories had helped to construct a recovery support system not only for themselves but also for those who are possibly still suffering from the consequences of violence. In this way survivors of GBV can therapeutically construct new identities for themselves, which transcend their abuse and thereby actively participate in the construction of meaning in their lives.

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Sharp, Deborah Carryl 1973. "Responsibility, Participation, and Social Engagement: Women's Capacity-Building Programs in Johannesburg, South Africa." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11086.

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xvi, 139 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. This thesis explores the empowerment effects of arts-and-crafts programs targeting women in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing mainly on one case study: Boitumelo Sewing Project. Interviews with participants, facilitators, and management reveal that empowerment manifests in Boitumelo Project primarily in individual and collective forms, though also on an economic level to a limited degree. While many development projects focus on economic empowerment, this research suggests that other forms of empowerment may be even more important in the long term. Economic empowerment helps people meet short-term responsibilities, but it is through individual and collective empowerment that personal and community forms of healing take place, enabling people to engage more successfully in society overall. In light of this, I argue that development projects should focus on engendering genuine participatory empowerment on both the individual and collective levels in order to increase sustainability and development success in the long term. Committee in Charge: Dr. Anita M. Weiss, Chair; Dr. Dennis Galvan; Dr. Michael Hibbard

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Hlatshwayo, Sizakele Thembisile. "The impact of cultural practices on the advancement of women in Africa: a study of Swaziland and South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2002. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&amp.

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Ntwasa, Bayanda. "Traditional leadership and the use of cultural laws in land administration: implications for rural women's land rights in a transforming South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/134.

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This dissertation critically examines how traditional leaders use cultural laws to allocate land to women and to allow women to participate in land administration in communal areas. Given the government's commitment to gender equity in all spheres of life as stipulated in Section 9 (3) of the South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996), the dissertation examines whether related legislation and policy (such as CLARA and TLGFA) alone can guarantee equitable access to land for women and their participation in land administration structures in communal areas where patriarchy dominates. In essence, the study interrogates whether state intervention through formalizing laws that govern land matters do achieve gender equity while cultural laws still exist in communal areas. Based on the view that land in communal areas is held by the state and administered by traditional leaders who have historically discriminated against women, the dissertation employs a case study method to examine whether cultural laws are exercised when women apply for a piece of land at the three levels of traditional authority viz: village, sub-village and traditional council levels in the Matolweni village of the Nqadu Tribal Authority. Although women are often the de facto rights holders in rural areas as a result of male migration to urban areas, findings seem to indicate that it is difficult and/or sometimes impossible to translate paper laws into practice while cultural laws are still operating. For effective transformation to occur, the study recommends that unless a strong women's rural movement emerges, coupled with a socialist feminist position that advocates for a radical transformation of rural society to defeat the patriarchal norms and standards, traditional leaders will continue to discriminate against women in land issues.

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Mtshali, Linda A. "Protection of women's rights in Africa through national human rights institutions (NHRIs) : a case study of Ghana and the Republic of South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/16746.

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Marginalized and vulnerable groups have always existed in societies. Such groups have always needed protectors of their rights. In democratic countries institutions have had to be established to ensure that the rights of these groups are protected. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are part of these institutions. NHRIs are important and vital as they 'serve as independent bodies for the protection and promotion of human rights‘. Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2010. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Ghana. 2010. http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ Centre for Human Rights LLM

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Diwouta, Tiki Christele Alexandra. "The place of women in the political sphere: a comparative study of Cameroon and South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/1077.

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"Issues of gender have always, and continue to, inhibit women from access to public office. With the increase of gender mainstreaming and struggle for equality, the internntional community has become increasingly aware of the absence of women in politics. The aims of this dissertation is not only, however, to be conscious of women's absence in politics, but to also take steps to redefine sound strategies to implement gender equality in terms of the political participation of women on the part of governments. This dissertation will focus on the place accorded to South African women in relation to the consolidation of a fairly new democracy, compared and contrasted to the struggle of their Cameroonian counterparts within the context of a much older democracy. Moreover, ratified conventional instruments as well as domestic constitutional dispositions currently in force in Cameroon dictate gender equality, thus calling for the implementation of special measures to enhance the participation of women. Yet, there have been no serious efforts on the part of Cameroon to revise or abrogate numerous coexisting discriminatory provisions and practices that perpetrate systematic discrimination against women in various ways within existing institutions. ... Chapter one sets out the scope of the study through the identification of the research problem and outlines the chosen methodology. This chapter also states the aims and objectives of the paper as well as its limitations. Chapter two considers the international and regional provisions governing women's rights. The main aim of this chapter is to recoup dispositions in human rights instruments with specific reference to gender equality and the participation of women in public life. Chapter three gives a historical backdrop of the participation of women in politics in both countries and sets out the domestic and constitutional provisions that relate to the status of women in politics in both Cameroon and South Africa. It also contains case studies to elucidate the particular challenges faced by women in these two countries. Chapter four analyses the extent to which Cameroon and South Africa have complied with international, regional as well as national human rights standards pertaining to women's political participation rights. The final chapter will contain conclusions and recommendations." -- Introduction. Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2004. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Letitia van der Poll, Faculty of Law of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html Centre for Human Rights LLM

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Alfers, Laura Corrigall. "Stirring The Hornet's Nest : women's citizenship and childcare in post-apartheid South Africa /." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2006. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/267/.

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Kamkuemah, Anna Ndaadhomagano. "A comparative study of black rural women's tenure security in South Africa and Namibia." Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71692.

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Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. Includes bibliography ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African land question presents complex legal and social challenges. The legal aspects of land are inextricably linked to other socio-economic aspects, such as access to housing, healthcare, water and social security. The Constitution provides for land reform in the property clause - section 25. This clause, while seeking to redress the colonial land dispossessions, by means of a tripartite land reform programme, also protects the property rights of all. The different legs of the land reform programme are redistribution, which is aimed at enabling citizens to access land on an equitable basis; restitution, which sets out to restore property rights or grant equitable redress to those dispossessed of land as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices and finally tenure reform. Tenure reform is premised on transforming the landholding system of those with legally insecure tenure as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices or granting comparable redress. The primary focus of this thesis is on tenure security for black rural women in South Africa, while using the Namibian experience with regard of the same group as a comparison. Historically, before colonialism, landholding was governed by the customary law of the various tribes in South Africa. This landholding system underwent extensive change through the colonial era that ultimately led to a fragmented and disproportionate distribution of land based on race, with insecure land rights particularly in rural areas, where women are the majority. With the dawn of the Constitutional era, South Africa embarked upon a social justice project, based on a supreme Constitution, embodying human dignity, equality, non-racialism, accountability and the rule of law. Land reform forms part of the social project and is governed by the Constitution and influenced by both the civil and customary law. With the South African tenure context, policy documents, legislation and case law will be analysed. In this process the role of the stakeholders and other related factors, for example customary practices are also considered. The analysis indicates that case law has played a significant part in addressing women’s plight with regard to equality, tenure reform and abolishing suppressive legislative provisions and practices. It is furthermore clear that the different categories of women are affected differently by the overarching tenure and other related measures. For a legal comparative study, Namibia was chosen for the following reasons: (a) both South Africa and Namibia have a shared colonial and apartheid background; (b) both countries have a Constitutional foundation incorporating human rights and equality; and (c) both countries have embarked on land reform programmes. However, contrary to the South African position, both the Namibian Constitution and its National Land Policy are more gender-specific. Tenure reform is an on-going process in Namibia in terms of which specific categories of women have benefitted lately. To that end the gender inclined approach may be of specific value for the South African situation, in general, but in particular concerning black rural women. Consequently, particular recommendations, linked to the specific categories of women, are finally provided for the South African position, in light of the Namibian experience. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse grondkwessie beliggaam ingewikkelde regs- en sosiale uitdagings. Die regsaspekte wat verband hou met grond is ook onlosmaaklik gekoppel aan sosio-ekonomiese kwessies, soos byvoorbeeld toegang to behuising, gesondheidsdienste, water en sosiale sekuriteit. Die Grondwet maak vir grondhervorming in die eiendomsklousule, artikel 25, voorsiening. Die eiendomsklousule beoog om koloniale grondontnemings (deur ‘n drie-ledige oorhoofse grondhervormingsprogram) aan te spreek en terselfdertyd eiendomsregte te beskerm. Die oorhoofse grondhervormingsprogram bestaan uit herverdeling, waarmee billike toegang tot grond vir alle burgers bewerkstellig word; restitusie, waarvolgens herstel (of ander billike vergoeding) vir persone en gemeenskappe wat grond en regte as gevolg van rasdiskriminerende maatreëls verloor het, bewerkstellig word en laastens grondbeheerhervorming. Grondbeheerhervorming behels die aanpas of opgradeer van grondbeheervorme (of die betaal van billike vergoeding) in gevalle waar regte onseker (of swak) is weens rasdiskriminerende maatreëls en praktyke van die verlede. Die hooffokus van die tesis is op die regsekerheid (al dan nie) van grondbeheer van swart landelike vrouens in Suid- Afrika, met die Namibiese ervaring as regsvergelykende komponent. Histories, voordat kolonialisme ingetree het, was grondbeheer deur die tradisionele inheemse reg van die verskillende gemeenskappe in Suid-Afrika gereguleer. Hierdie grondbeheersisteme het grootskaalse verandering gedurende die koloniale tydperk ondergaan. Dit het eindelik tot ‘n rasgebaseerde, gefragmenteerde sisteem gelei waarvan die verdeling van grond disproporsioneel was en die grondbeheervorme regsonseker, veral in die landelike gebiede waar vrouens die meerderheid van die bevolking uitmaak. Toe die grondwetlike era in Suid-Afrika aanbreek, is daar met ‘n sosiale geregtigheidprojek (heropbou en ontwikkeling) begin. Hierdie benadering is op die Grondwet gefundeer waarin menswaardigheid, gelykheid, nie-rassigheid, rekenskap en regsorde beliggaam is. Grondhervorming vorm deel van die oorhoofse projek en word deur die Grondwet bestuur en deur beide die nasionale en die Inheems reg beïnvloed. Met betrekking tot die Suid-Afrikaanse grondbeheeristeem word beleidsdokumente, wetgewing en regspraak geanaliseer. In hierdie proses word die rol van belanghebbendes en ander verwante aspekte, soos byvoorbeeld Inheemse partyke, ook oorweeg. Die analise dui aan dat dit veral ontwikkelings in regspraak is wat ‘n groot bydrae gelewer het om vrouens se stryd om gelykheid en sekerheid van grondbeheer te bevorder en wat gelei het tot die afskaffing van onderdrukkende wetgewende maatreëls en praktyke. Dit is verder ook duidelik dat verskillende kategorieë van vrouens verskillend deur die oorhoofse grondbeheer- en ander verwante maatreëls, geaffekteer word. Namibië is vir die regsvergelykende analise geïdentifiseer omdat (a) beide Suid- Afrika en Namibië ‘n koloniale en apartheidsgeskiedenis deel; (b) beide jurisdiksies ‘n grondwetlike basis het waarin menseregte en gelykheid beliggaam word; en (c) beide lande grondhervormingsprogramme van stapel gestuur het. In teenstelling met die Suid-Afrikaanse benadering, is die Namibiese Grondwet en die nasionale grondbeleid egter meer geslag-spesifiek. Grondbeheerhervorming in Namibië is ‘n aaneenlopende proses waaruit veral sekere kategorieë vrouens onlangs voordeel getrek het. Om daardie rede mag die geslag-spesifke benadering wat in Namibië gevolg word vir Suid-Afrika ook van waarde wees, nie net in die algemeen by grondbeheer nie, maar spesifiek ook met betrekking tot swart landelike vroue. In die lig van die Namibiese ervaring word daar ten slotte spesifieke aanbevelings tot die Suid-Afrikaanse sisteem, gekoppel aan bepaalde kategorieë van vroue, gemaak.

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Maswikwa, Belinda. "Limits of citizenship : a comparative analysis of Zimbabwean and South African women's citizenship agency." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97111.

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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Developmental initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa emphasise participatory citizenship as the means through which poor women can assert and claim their citizenship rights. Although citizenship and agency are crucial elements in this narrative, little is known about the citizenship process for African women. Furthermore, there is no analytic framework to guide an empirical analysis of agency. This dissertation aims to address these gaps by examining how marginalised Black African women understand themselves as citizens, navigate their structural barriers and develop strategies to negotiate their membership in and relationship with their states. This dissertation uses a deviant case analysis of women living in Zimbabwean and South African townships, who identify as members of the isiNdebele and isiZulu ethnic groups respectively, to Western theories of agency. Data was collected through the use of in-depth interviews and analysed using content and relational analysis. Results indicate that the women use a range of everyday resistance strategies to negotiate their relationship with their states. These strategies are mapped onto an innovative analytic framework that synthesizes feminist, androcentric and subaltern theories of citizenship agency, in order to highlight the non-conventional ways that marginalised African women exercise their agency as citizens. Interestingly, both sets of women emphasise the obligation to vote, work and support oneself without recourse to the state, rather than a reciprocal and participatory relationship. The internalisation of citizenship as an obligation without a corollary emphasis on rights and participation is problematic given that both governments suffer from legitimacy, corruption and governance issues. The main policy implication arising from the study is that there is a need for civic education in schools as well as a feature of women‟s empowerment and community development programs so that marginalised African women are encouraged to expand their participatory skills to collectively challenge, contest and improve the substance of existing citizenship rights. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ontwikkelinginisiatiewe in Afrika beklemtoon deelnemende burgerskap as ŉ manier hoe arm vroue hul regte kan eis. Hoewel burgerskap en die agentskap (agency) belangrik in hierdie verhaal is, weet ons baie min oor hoe swart vroue burgerskap ervaar. Verder is daar geen analitiese raamwerk om 'n empiriese ontleding van hul agentskap te lei nie. Die proefskrif spreek hierdie gapings aan deur ŉ ondersoek oor hoe arm swart vroue in Afrika hulself as burgers verstaan, hoe hul strukturele hindernisse navigeer en strategieë ontwikkel om hul lidmaatskap van en verhouding tot die staat te onderhandel. Hierdie proefskrif gebruik ŉ vergelykende gevallestudie benadering wat vroue wat in Zimbabwe en Suid-Afrika in “townships” woon en wat hulself as isiNdebele en isiZulu identifiseer na te vors. Data is verkry deur die gebruik van in-diepte onderhoude, inhouds- en verwantskapsanalise. Die resultate dui aan dat vroue ŉ reeks strategieë gebruik vir “daaglikse weerstand” om hul verhouding met die staat te onderhandel. Hierdie strategieë word gekarteer op die innoverende analitiese raamwerk, wat ŉ sintese is van feministiese, androsentriese en subalterne teorieë van burgerskap, om sodoende die nie-konvensionele maniere waarop swart vroue hul agentskap uitoefen te beklemtoon. Beide groepe vroue beklemtoon die verpligting om te stem, werk en om jouself te onderhou sonder hulp van die staat, eerder as om ŉ wederkerige en deelnemende verhouding met die staat te beoefen. Die internalisering van burgerskap as ŉ verpligting sonder die wederkerige nadruk op regte en deelname is problematies. Dit kan gekoppel word aan die feit dat albei regerings gebuk gaan onder legitimiteitsprobleme, korrupsie en probleme rondom regeerkunde, wat vrae genereer oor hoe om hierdie regerings verantwoordbaar te hou. Die hoof beleidsimplikasie van hierdie studie is die daarstelling van burgerlike onderwys in skole, sowel as vroue se bemagtiging in ontwikkelingsprogramme. Dit sal bydra daartoe dat gemarginaliseerde swart vroue aangemoedig word om hul vaardighede rondom deelname te ontwikkel en die substansie van hul bestaande burgerskap kollektief uit te daag en te verbeter.

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Assefa, Ayalew Getachew. "The impact of the African Charter on human and people's rights and the protocol on the rights of women on the South African Judiciary." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18612.

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The African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights (the Africa Charter), which is one of the constituents of the African human rights system, was adopted by the Assembly of Head of States and Governments of the OAU in 1981 and entered into force five years later in 1986. The African Charter covers a wider range of rights when compared to the other regional human rights instruments, such as the European and the Inter-American Human Rights Systems. As many writers indicated, the Africa Charter is designed to reflect the history, values, traditions, and development of Africa by joining collective rights and individual duties. The African Commission on Humans and Peoples‟ Rights (the Commission) is responsible for the enforcement of the African Charter. Currently, the African Charter has been ratified by 53 countries. South Africa has signed, ratified and deposited the Charter on 09 July 1996. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Letitia van der Poll, Faculty of Law of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2011. http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ nf2012 Centre for Human Rights LLM

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Thabane, Tebello. "Bridging the gap between de jure and de facto parliamentary representation of women in Africa : lessons from Rwanda and South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/1235.

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"This study is predicated on a strong belief that the gender make-up of African parliamnets must relfect the gender demographics of African states. It is only when that is achieved that the concepts of equality, non-discrimination and democracy can gain their true meaning. As a departure point, the study makes a case that statistically women are under-represented across the overwhelming majority of African parliaments. The study asserts that the under-representation is prevalent amid the existence of international, regional and domestic instruments, all providing for women's right to representation in decision-making processes. Thus, the study demonstrates that there is a gap between de jure and de facto representation. The study then argues that the convoluted ideology of patriarchy, sacrosanct cultures, inviolable religions, the constructed public/private dichotomy, low levels of education, and the negative impact of globalisation all act in concert to deny African women their rightful place in decision-making institutions, particluarly parliaments. In a bid to investigate how this can be reserved, the study explores the Rwandan and South African models for purposes of gaining insights on how they have contrived to reach and surpass the critical mass of women in their parliaments. These two models demonstrate that a combination of temporary special measures and gender mainstreaming are effective tools for emancipating women and ensuring their representation in parliaments. These have to be buttressed by strong legal and institutioanl frameworks, which operate in a conducive socio-political environment." -- Abstract. Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Ben Twinomugisha at the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC), Makerere University, Faculty of Law, Kampala, Uganda http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html Centre for Human Rights LLM

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Vernon, Gillian Noël. "Conservatism and change: the refashioning of gender relations from 1870 to 1914: a case study of East London." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002420.

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This is a case study of East London from 1870 to 1914 with gender as the critical analytical category. The focus is on change in the structure of gender relations, evaluated in terms of the recognition of the rights of women and their status in society and women of all race groups are dealt with. A feature of the source material has been the use made of oral history where interviews were conducted with the descendants of women who lived during the study period. There were many indirect factors which had a retrogressive influence on progressive change in the rights and position of women. The initial small size of the population and unbalanced gender ratios, the few natural resources, a small and limited port and periodic unpredictable natural disasters gave rise to a 'boom and burst' economy with very little industry. The result was that initially the women were very conservative and unwilling to make social changes. The military occupation and the outbreak of hostilities in the late 1870s affected social and racial attitudes detrimentally. The entrenched patriarchal system, under which both black and white women lived, and the legal controls, particularly in the marital situation, reinforced the subordination of women, making the system difficult to break. Further conservative forces were at work with the European class system being well entrenched, with most women working for upward mobility, gentrification and respectability. Wealth was critical in determining status and those women from the working class, who had achieved some degree of wealth and status, were not prepared to challenge the system. Religion was important for nearly all white women and converted black women, but was a retarding influence in the growth of feminist consciousness. Little progress was made in improving the condition of women who transgressed the law, the non-respectable women, and ethnicity made no difference. Progress was made in gender relations for women in some fields. The reduction in family size and the improvement in health, gave women more time and energy for public affairs. Participation in sport helped women discard the image of being weak and frail and also improved health. Educational opportunities allowed some to get tertiary training and obtain proper qualifications to earn a living for themselves. Xhosa women who came into the town, made a major break with traditional society and many became independent. The major impetus for change came through women's associations, where women actively worked together and achieved some positive results. Middle class white women could earn an independent living without losing respectability, although it was accepted that women should give up paid employment on marriage. Black women broke traditional ties and many urban women became independent. Conditions for working class and non-respectable women changed very little. A deduction is that many women, both white and black, had sympathy for one another and they created a fund of goodwill on both sides of the colour line.

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Kotze, Marthé. "Is the difference in minimum legal ages of marriage for girls and boys in South Africa a violation of equality?" Diss., University of Pretoria, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/73472.

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South African law allows minors under the age of 18 to get married, under certain conditions. The minimum age at which a minor may enter into marriage under both civil and customary law is 12-17 for girls, and 14-17 for boys. The focus of this paper is not the practice of child marriage, nor measures aimed at combating child marriage, and recommends that South Africa set the age of marriage at 18 for both sexes without exceptions. However, until South Africa changes its laws, boys and girls will continue being treated differently under existing marriage legislation. This mini-dissertation is concerned with whether different minimum ages of marriage for minors contributes to the systemic discrimination that women and girls face in South Africa, and whether this violates the rights of girls to be treated equally to boys. The paper looks at the role of culture and gender stereotypes in the formation of marriage legislation, as well as the societal effects of the current legislation. Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. Centre for Human Rights MPhil Multidisciplinary Human Rights Unrestricted

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Ntanjana, Akho. "Millennium development goals ( MDGs ) and women - the implementation of article 10 ( 3 ) of the protocol on the rights of women in South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18621.

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Few would deny that the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) has achieved a lot in its quest to improve the pressing social challenges (such as poverty; illiteracy; HIV/AIDS; crime prevalence; preventable diseases, and high levels unemployment). It must be firmly said that these social ills generally affect everyone – particularly the historically marginalised group in South Africa. However, there are also few who would deny that South African women (including the girl-child), as it is the case elsewhere in Africa suffer disproportionately that their male counterparts. Some have supported the view that gender discrimination is the main source of women’s disempowerment today. For instance, society has accepted consciously or otherwise that women are inferior to men and as such cannot take part both in public and private spheres of life. It is nevertheless not the object of this study to delve into to the complex and often misunderstood causes of women’s marginalisation in South Africa. Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2011. http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ nf2012 Centre for Human Rights LLM

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Zhanda, Rudo Melissa. "An investigation into land reform, gender and welfare in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97283.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Women’s rights to property have still not been recognised in many countries as a basic individual right. Furthermore, women have often been excluded in the policies that govern land reform, that is, the economic restructuring programmes and land distribution policies. It is important to understand how women's rights in and access to land are being addressed, and the ways in which institutional reforms have benefited or disadvantaged women, given the importance of women as agricultural producers in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the commitment to gender equality adopted by many governments. The determination of the criteria used to target land beneficiaries for land reform in South Africa is largely unclear and undocumented. Furthermore, there is a limited focus in existing literature on the actual impact of land reform on its beneficiaries. Land reform in South Africa is only benefiting a small proportion of the population. The findings of this research also indicate that there is a conscious attempt by the state to address racial injustices of Apartheid, with the majority of recipients of land in South Africa being African/black, and Coloureds following closely. Furthermore, the beneficiaries of land appear to be largely uneducated and unmarried. The research indicates that women in South Africa have equal, if not more opportunity than men to gain access to land through land reform. However, it does appear that males are heading most of the households with access to land through land reform and women in male-headed households have more access to land through land reform than those in female-headed households. This suggests that unmarried women are still at a disadvantage for accessing land through land reform, which further validates the findings of existing literature that customary practices may still be prevalent in South Africa and women’s primary access to land is through marriage. The findings of the research also indicate that generally people with access to land through land reform are more likely to have better household welfare than those with no access to land through land reform. Therefore, with only 2.5 per cent of the population accessing land, there is a significant limitation on the number of households whose welfare can be improved by land reform. The results also indicate that males without access to land have better household welfare than females without access to land therefore implying that women are more vulnerable without land access and they are more likely to face poverty when they are not afforded the opportunity to access land through land reform. Furthermore, it appears that females with access to land have better household welfare than males with access to land, which implies that females are an essential contributor to household welfare, more so than their male counter parts. Similar to existing literature, these findings further validate the need for the state to address gender inequality in land reform and ensure that women are included in the process. Nevertheless, with the majority of the land beneficiaries in this research being female, household welfare in South Africa is expected to improve in the future due to land reform.

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Ntloko, Balisa Mirriam. "Hearing the voice of rural women regarding personal development issues." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12736.

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Some rural communities in South Africa suffer from the results of inequity and disempowerment. It is especially black females who are affected in this regard. A number of factors contribute to the oppression of female voices in their rural communities. In this study the voice is considered the right and freedom of speech for women to express their opinions in order to influence others. Both the national government and civil society fervently push for the placement of women and children empowerment onto the development agenda. Yet, one still notes with concern that in reality, it seems to be mostly men who fully enjoy freedom of speech, senior employment and decision making powers in South Africa. Thus, it remains evident that not enough has been done to redress gender inequities,especially in South African rural communities. Focussing on one rural community situated in the outskirts of the Eastern Cape (former Transkei), this research undertook to determine the various ways in which rural women may have their voice heard in their immediate communities, particularly pertaining to personal development issues. Community members, who were identified through a purposive sampling method, shared their perceptions on the research topic.Through the research, it has become clear that in order to overcome female silence, the communal role of women needs to be broadened beyond the scope of traditionally gendered activities such as the carrying out of house work/chores such as cooking or childrearing. Furthermore, women must be knowledgeable about their basic human rights and responsibilities; their education in this regard should be made a national priority. It has also become evident that in order to overcome female voices remaining silent, women should begin to take greater personal responsibility over their reproductive health.Practical recommendations to ddress each framed theme have been presented.

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17

Van, der Poll Letetia. "The constitutionality of pornography." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/52497.

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Thesis (LLD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The advent of a constitutional democracy in South Africa after the first non-racial democratic elections in 1994 and the subsequent adoption of a final constitution in 1996 introduced a legal order based on "democratic values, social justice and fundamental rights". The inception of a constitutional democracy in South African encourages an assessment of the possible constitutional ramifications of pornography, specifically within a discourse on women's interests in equality, human dignity and physical integrity. Under the strong influence of United States First Amendment doctrine, pornography is defined (and protected in the "marketplace of ideas") as a particular mode of expression, thus allowing pornography to be viewed as part of the fabric of an open, free and democratic society. Within this doctrinal context, the recognition and entrenchment of freedom of expression have firmly placed pornography on both the South African constitutional and political agendas. The objective of this study is to address specific aspects of the debate on adult heterosexual pornography (that is, pornography produced for and targeted at the male heterosexual market) in order to establish its constitutionality. This dissertation is not, however, intended as a discourse on pornography as a possible threat to the moral fibre of society, but rather about pornography as an invasion ofwomen's particular constitutional interests in equality, human dignity as well as security in and control over their bodies. To this end, Chapter 2 serves to establish a suitable theoretical framework that is capable of facilitating a woman-centred analysis of adult heterosexual pornography within the ambit of the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution. Consequently, the merit ofliberal feminism and radical feminist thought is critically assessed against the particular (constitutional and doctrinal) demands presented by a study of this nature. Chapter three - the first in a trilogy which seeks to evaluate the different conceptualisations of pornography in the United States, Canada and South Africa - critically reflects on the obscenity jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the United States of America as well as radical feminist campaigns in Minneapolis and Indianapolis to re-conceptualise pornography and its harm. Chapter 4 entails a critical reflection on the capacity of Canadian constitutional jurisprudence to address adult heterosexual pornography either as a patriarchal structure which impacts on women's interests in equality, dignity and physical integrity or as a mode of expression which incites gender hatred. Chapter 5 traces the history of South African censorship law as prelude to a critical discussion of the current Films and Publications Act as well as the first decision of the South African Constitutional Court on the possible human rights implications of sexually explicit material. The chapter concludes with proposals for a suitable conception of the (constitutional) harm as well as a legal definition of adult heterosexual pornography for South African law. The constitutional implications of the proposed conceptions of pornography and harm are evaluated in Chapter 6 with specific reference to sections 9, 10 and 12 as well as subsection 16(2)( c) of the South African Constitution. Chapter 7 concludes the present study with some thoughts on the suitability of censorship as legal and political strategy. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die koms van 'n konstitusionele demokrasie in Suid-Afrika ná die eerste nie-rassige demokratiese verkiesings in 1994 en die daaropvolgende aanname van 'n finale grondwet in 1996 het' n regsorde wat op "demokratiese waardes, maatskaplike geregtigheid en basiese menseregte" gegrond is, ingelei. Die aanvang van 'n konstitusionele demokrasie in Suid-Afrika moedig inderwaarheid 'n evaluering van die moontlike grondwetlike gevolge van pornografie, spesifiek binne 'n diskoers oor vroue se belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid en fisiese integriteit, aan. Onder die sterk invloed van die leerstelling van die Amerikaanse Eerste Amendement word pornografie gedefinieer (en beskerm binne die "markplein van idees") as 'n spesifieke vorm van uitdrukking wat gevolglik meebring dat pornografie noodwendig as deel van 'n oop, vrye en demokratiese gemeenskap beskou word. Binne hierdie dogmatiese konteks het die erkenning en . verskansing van vryheid van uitdrukking pornografie stewig op sowel die Suid-Afrikaanse grondwetlike as politieke agendas geplaas. Die oogmerk van hierdie studie is om spesifieke aspekte rondom die debat oor volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie (naamlik, pornografie geproduseer vir en gerig op die manlike heteroseksuele mark) aan te spreek ten einde die grondwetlikheid daarvan te bepaal. Hierdie proefskrif is egter nie bedoel as 'n diskoers oor pornografie as moontlike bedreiging vir die morele stoffasie van die gemeenskap nie, maar eerder oor pornografie as 'n 'n inbreukmaking op vroue se spesifieke grondwetlike belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid asook sekerheid in en beheer oor hulle liggame. Gevolglik dien Hoofstuk 2 om 'n gepaste teoretiese raamwerk daar te stel wat oor die vermoë beskik om 'n vroue-gesentreerde analise van volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie binne die raamwerk van die Handves van Menseregte in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet aan te help. Daarom word die meriete van die liberale feminisme en die radikale feministiese denke krities oorweeg teenoor die spesifieke (grondwetlike en dogmatiese) uitdagings wat deur 'n studie van hierdie aard gestel word. Hoofstuk 3 - die eerste in 'n trilogie wat ten doel het om die verskillende opvattings oor pornografie in die Verenigde State, Kanada en Suid-Afrika te ondersoek - bevat 'n kritiese oorweging van die Amerikaanse Hooggeregshofse beskouing van obseniteit asook die radikaal feministies-geïnspireerde veldtogte in Minneapolis en Indianapolis wat ten doel gehad het om pornografie en sy nadeel te herkonseptualiseer. Hoofstuk 4 behels 'n kritiese oorweging van die vermoë van die Kanadese grondwetlike reg om volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie Of as 'n patriargale struktuur wat 'n impak op vroue se belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid en fisiese integriteit het Of as 'n vorm van uitdrukking wat geslagshaat aanwakker, aan te spreek. Hoofstuk 5 speur die geskiedenis van sensuur in Suid-Afrika na as inleiding tot 'n kritiese bespreking van die huidige Wet op Films en Publikasies asook die eerste beslissing van die Suid- Afrikaanse Grondwetlike Hof oor die menseregte-implikasies van seksueel eksplisiete materiaal. Die hoofstuk sluit afmet voorstelle vir 'n gepaste begrip van sowel die (grondwetlike)nadeel as 'n regsdefinisie van volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie vir die Suid-Afrikaanse reg. Die grondwetlike implikasies van die voorgestelde begrippe van pornografie en gepaardgaande nadeel word in Hoofstuk 6 opgeweeg met besondere verwysing na artikels 9, 10 en 12 asook subartikeI16(2)(c) van die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet. Hoofstuk 7 sluit die onderhawige studie af met enkele gedagtes oor sensuur as gepasde regs- en politiese strategie.

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Rumsey, Carolyn A. "Culture, Abstinence, and Human Rights: Zulu Use of Virginity Testing in South Africa’s Battle against AIDS." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20617.

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Virginity Testing, a traditional Zulu pre-nuptial custom that determines the worth of a bride, has been resurrected in communities in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The practice takes place during large community festivals when young girls have their genitals physically examined to determine whether they are virgins and results are made public. Supporters of the tradition claim that in fostering a value of chastity among its youth, it encourages abstinence from sexual intercourse which leads to a lower HIV infection rate and prevents the disease from spreading. Human rights activists disagree; Rather than slowing the spread of a disease, they argue, the practice instead endangers girls. Those who fail are often shunned and turn to prostitution, while those who pass may be exposed as potential targets for rape (due to a myth that says intercourse with a virgin cures HIV/AIDS). Despite a ban on the practice in 2005, the testing festivals continue, and are described by supporters as an important part of the preservation of Zulu culture. This thesis examines the ways in which human rights may be re-negotiated for young girls in Zulu communities while maintaining a respect for local culture. It moves beyond the traditional debate between relativism and universalism in order to propose solutions to rights violations in culturally diverse contexts by exploring ideas of inclusive human rights and capabilities theories.

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19

Chofor, Che Christian-Aime. "Educational opportunities for the girl child in Africa : a necessary revisit of the discrimination factor with reference to Egypt, South Africa and Cameroon." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/985.

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"This paper is therefore inspired to look at education with respect to girl children in Africa. This paper, by drawing inspriation from other settings, is also motivated by the need to find solutions on how best the rights of the girl child can be protected in conjuction with the educational policy of African countries. ... The study is divided into six chapters. Chapter one provides the context in which the study is set, the objectives of the study and its importance. Chapter two examines the importance of the right to education and in education and takes note of the issue of discrimination with respect to girl child education in Africa. In chapter three various international treaties that concern provisions on education and the discrimination factor as to gender are identified. Also in the international milieu, the role of international bodies in the effective and efficient insurance of girl child education is included. Chapter four examines on a regional level, the extent to which the African Commission has effectively monitored the provision of the African Chater. The African Children's Charter and the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women (the Draft Women's Protocol) in Africa are also discussed in relation to provisions in the African Charter and work done on girl child education by the African Commission. In this chapter, a comparative study is also done of instruments and the implementation mechanisms offered by the Inter-American and European systems to the African human rights system in terms of the girl child education. This is so because in terms of experience, jurisprudence and institutions, these systems are considered to be more advanced than the African human rights sytem. Finally chapter five discusses girl child education on a national level in Africa. This chapter focuses on the experiences of South Africa, Egypt and Cameroon. Educational policy and other national legislative instruments such as the constitutions of these countries are included. In the conclusion, the paper puts forward recommendations to assist new and old African democracies in advancing an administrative and political approach to the issue of discrimination with respect to girl child education." -- Chapter 1. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Enid Hill at the Department of Political Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The American University in Cairo, Egypt http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html Centre for Human Rights LLM

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20

Chiwandire, Desire. "Conscientious objection and South African medical practitioners' constructions of termination of pregnancy and emergency contraception." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017863.

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Aim: The 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act decriminalized abortion in South Africa and the South African Medicines Control Council in 2000 approved the dispensing of emergency contraceptive methods by pharmacists to women without a doctor's prescription. This legislation has been hailed as among the most progressive in the world with respect to women's reproductive justice. However the realisation of these rights in practice has not always met expectations in part due to medical practitioners' ethical objections to termination of pregnancy and the provision of related services. The aim of this study was to interpret the varying ways in which medical practitioners frame termination of pregnancy and emergency contraceptive services, their own professional identities and that of their patients/clients. Methods: Sample of 58 doctors and 59 pharmacists drawn from all nine provinces of South Africa. Data collected using an anonymous confidential internet-based self-administered questionnaire. Participants were randomly recruited from online listings of South African doctors and pharmacists practicing in both private and public sectors. Data were analysed using theoretically derived qualitative content analysis. Results: Participants drew on eight frames to justify their willingness or unwillingness to provide termination-of-pregnancy related services: the foetal life frame, the women's rights frame, the balancing frame, the social justice frame, the do no harm frame, the legal and professional obligation frame, the consequences frame and the moral absolutist frame. Conclusion: Health professionals' willingness or unwillingness to provide termination of pregnancy related services is highly dependent on how they frame or understand termination of pregnancy, and how they understand their own professional identities and those of their patients/clients.

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21

Mangwiro, Heather K. "A critical investigation of the relevance of theories of feminist jurisprudence to African women in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007328.

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Feminist theories emerged out of the revolutionary enthusiasm that swept the Western world during the late eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe. Based on the assumption that all persons have "inalienable or natural" rights upon which governments may not intrude, feminists in Europe and America advocated that equal rights should be extended to women who up to this point were not considered legal beings separate and deserving of these rights. Most African writers and feminists have argued that since most of the theories of feminist jurisprudence have their roots in this Euro-centric context, they cannot be applicable to African women and should therefore be discarded. The thesis acknowledges that to a certain extent their assertions are true. For years feminist jurisprudence has been restricted to an academic engagement with the law failing to take into account the practices and customs of different communities. It has largely been the realm of the middle class bourgeois white female and therefore has been inaccessible to the African woman. The thesis aims, however, to prove that these theories of feminist jurisprudence although Euro-centric have a place in the understanding and advancement of African women's rights in South Africa. In Chapter One the writer traces the history of South African women's rights and the laws that affect African women. Chapter Two presents the emergence of feminist theories and categories of feminism. The writer then seeks to identify the misunderstandings and tensions that exist between the two. The narrow conception of Euro-centric feminism has been that its sole purpose has been the eradication of gender discrimination, however, for African women in South Africa they have had to deal with a multiplicity of oppressions that include but are not restricted to gender, race, economic and social disempowerment. This is dealt with in Chapter Three. It is the opinion of the writer that despite these differences feminism does play a critical role in the advancement of women's rights in South Africa. Taking the South African governments commitment to the advancement of universal rights, the writer is of the opinion that African women can look to the example set by Western feminists, and broaden these theories to suit and be adaptable to the South African context. The answer is not to totally discard feminist theories but to extract commonalities that exist between African and European women, by so doing acknowledging that women's oppression is a global phenomenon. This is the focus of Chapter Four. To avoid making this work a mere academic endeavour, the writer in Chapter Five also aims, through interviews, to include the voices of African women and to indicate areas that still need attention from both the lawmakers and women's rights movements (Feminists). Finally, the writer aims to present a way forward, one that is not merely formal but also substantively attainable.

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22

Chinnian, Karin Antoinetie. "Gender persecution as a ground for asylum in South Africa and Canada: Reconceptualising a theoretical framework for assessing refugee claims by women." University of the Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/8377.

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Doctor Legum - LLD According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, women account for 48% of the refugees globally. "Persecution" is the central tenet in the refugee definition, but the ensuing jurisprudence was initially developed from the male experience. Therefore, the phallocentric nature of international and domestic refugee regimes mean that women's experiences of persecution are often marginalised, first, in their country of origin, and secondly, by the States from whom they seek refuge. Thus, the patriarchal conceptualisation of persecution exists in the content, interpretation and application of refugee law. The critical analysis of international refugee law, together with a comparative study between South Africa and Canada's refugee regimes, confirms that this conceptualisation impacts negatively on the manner in which gender-related asylum claims are assessed. This thesis argues for a reconceptualisation of refugee law through feminist scholarship, to investigate, question and expose the patriarchy residing in refugee laws and processes, and to theorise how gender-related persecution should be determined. Refugee jurisprudence has generally established that gender is socially constructed and based on sex which is biological and unchangeable The arrangement of sex and gender as immutable constructs enable the subordination of women, and within the refugee discourse, underpins gender related persecution specifically. Therefore, the reconceptualisation of sex and gender into malleable and dynamic concepts facilitates a paradigm for the protection of refugee women. The dominance theory and the deconstruction theory, together with feminist methods are used to conceptually explore the construction of sex and gender, recognising how the intersection with other identities, such as race and class, influence the understanding of sex and gender in refugee discourse. This thesis argues that the current construction of sex and gender together with the strategies that are increasingly used by governments to prevent refugees from crossing the borders, mean that asylum-seekers generally, and women, specifically are not receiving adequate protection. The xenophobic rhetoric of officials together with the enactment of restrictive refugee legislation, collectively result in South Africa and Canada creating and maintaining the illegal status of asylum-seekers.

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Dywili, Mhlobo Douglas. "Gender equality in the provision and utilisation of women administrative personnel : a comparative study of the Camdeboo Local Municipality and Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2414.

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In 2000, cabinet adopted the South African Policy framework for women’s empowerment and gender equality, 2000 (Policy framework) which provided for the establishment of the National Gender Machinery (NGM). The NGM is a network of coordinated structures within and outside government which operate cooperatively in facilitating political, social, economic and other forms of transformation to dismantle systemic gender inequality and promote equality between women and men. The implementation of gender equality policy as a function area has constitutionally been given to the national and provincial legislatures in South Africa. The constitution allocated this function to the local sphere of government. Camdeboo and Inxuba Yethemba local municipal authorities are the facilitators of sustainable gender equality policies to citizens on behalf of the national and provincial spheres of government. The study was thus conducted within the Camdeboo local municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality. Camdeboo locoal municipality is one of nine local municipalities in Sarah Baartman district municipality. Inxuba Yethemba local municipality is in Chris Hani district municipality. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation of gender equality in the Provision and Utilisation of Women administration Personnel a comparative study of the Camdeboo local municipality and the Inxuba Yethemba local municipality and to determine the impact of the existing policy on the gender equality policy on the needs of women of both municipalities. For this purpose the fundamental and overall study problem was found to be that the gender equality at the Camdeboo and Inxuba Yethemba is hampered by the implementation of an inadequate municipality gender equality policy and by incompetent municipal personnel in particular and in general by the municipality itself. These action do not satisfy the main purpose of the Employment Equity Act no 55 of 1998 to achieve in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in all forms of employment through elimination of unfair discrimination as well as the implementation of affirmative action measures. The hypothesis was furthermore based on the fact that the existing gender policy of Camdeboo local municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality gender equality policy are inadequate to satisfy women and impacts negatively if not harmfully on human being of women. The study revealed that besides the implementation of gender equality policy by these incompetent municipal personnel, there are economic, social, political and physical effects on women. In case of applications for senior management position, preference is always given to their male counterparts at the expense of equally qualified female applications. Secondly, Gender equality in human resource determination forms part of the processing phase in the system theory. These two municipalities should be made to commit themselves by appending their signatures to all control measures put in place to evaluate the level and the extent of gender equality across all the departments/ sections in the municipality. Any section/ department that implements gender equality more effectively should be identified applauded and given recognition. This would motivate and eliminate gender inequality. Personnel provision and utilization is of paramount importance to every organization. It then becomes extremely necessary to examine the gender equality on human resource determination.

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24

Tsomo, Zixolele. "An evaluation of gender equity in the Amathole District Council head office, East London 2006-2010." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012685.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the promotion of gender equity in the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). This investigation originated against the phenomenon that women are continuously faced with barriers to progress in the workplace. In an endeavour to find a meaningful solution to the problem, it was necessary to assess the degree of transformational change in the workplace; to ascertain what these barriers are; and how they can be overcome. The study commenced with an overview of the stance of women in the Republic of South Africa, especially their struggle to find a platform from where their voice could be heard. In order to achieve the research objectives, an in-depth literature study was undertaken. A survey was also conducted to examine the perceptions of gender equity in the ADM. The required data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with female officials in senior managerial positions. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that emanate from the literature review and qualitative study.

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25

Mwambene, Lea. "The Impact of the Bill of Rights on African Customary Family Laws: A Study of the Rights of Women in Malawi with some Reference to Developments in South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2008. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_1656_1271625896.

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On the assumption that the Bill of Rights in the Malawi Constitution has brought change in the enjoyment of rights by women married under customary family laws, this research study examines its impact on African customary family laws that are discriminatory against women in Malawi. The main focus is on customary family laws governing marriage, divorce, children after divorce, and inheritance in both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of marriages. The extent to which this has been reflected in practice is assessed in the light of women&rsquo s rights law reforms and courts&rsquo adjudication of customary family law issues.

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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.

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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.

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Bjornberg, Karin. "Rethinking human security : taking into consideration gender based violence." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71706.

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Includes bibliography ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The human security concept challenges the traditional view of state security. The very essence of human security means to respect human rights. The Commission on Human Security did not focus on women as a special area of concern in the 1994 Human Development Report. The report does not recognise that being subject to gender hierarchies increases women’s insecurity and that women experience human security differently from men and shows that the human security concept does not include gender based violence (GBV) because there is no specific attention paid to issues that predominantly pertain to women. This study is conducted from a feminist perspective. It is reflexive research and based on standpoint theory. The data is gathered through analysis of secondary data and primary data, collected through interviews. GBV in South Africa tends to be continuous and the perpetrator is most likely to be a spouse or partner. Studies show that women are seen as being dependent on and weaker than men. Many men view women’s rights legislation as a challenge to the legitimacy of men’s authority over women. Women who try to be more independent in their relationships are regarded as threats and violence against them becomes a way for men to show control. The criminal justice system in South Africa has made progress in protecting women from GBV but myths, stereotypes and social conventions still prevent women from receiving justice. Traditionally, the state regards what happens in the private sphere as outside its responsibility. The public/private dichotomy challenges state regulations and norms which is evident in the case of domestic violence. It is often argued that GBV has remained imperceptible because it takes place in the private sphere. However, this research indicates that due to the socio-economic situation in South Africa, the abuse is often publicly known by those in the immediate environment as people live in informal housing. This research shows that a human security framework that targets GBV has to be developed for those who bear its consequences. When women are not viewed as subjects, issues that mainly affect them remain invisible. It is necessary that analysis of human insecurity starts from the conditions of women’s lives. Many women in South Africa live highly traumatic lives. Fighting GBV requires that we know the victims of GBV and let them decide what they need to feel secure. Creating human security requires that other threats which contribute to GBV, such as poverty, gender stereotypes and prejudice are also addressed. GBV has become an epidemic in South Africa and is a permanent constraint in women’s lives and impacts society as a whole. The security of the state rest on the security of women and as long as the state fails to treat GBV as a serious crime and protect women the state is more likely to use violence on a larger scale against its citizens. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Menslike Veiligheidskonsept daag die tradisionele siening van staatsveiligheid uit: die kerbetekenis van Menslike Veiligheid is om menseregte te respekteer. Die Kommissie op Menslike Veiligheid het nie op vroue as ‘n spesiale area van kommer gefokus in die Menslike Ontwikkelingsverslag van 1994 nie. Die verslag het daarin gefaal om te erken dat die realiteit van geslags-hiërargieë vroue se insekuriteit verhoog, en dat die ervaring van menslike sekuriteit van mans en vroue verskil. Hierdie navorsing sal toon dat die menslike veiligheidsbegrip nie in staat is om geslags-gebaseerde geweld (GGG) in ag te neem nie, aangesien daar geen spesifieke aandag verleen is aan vraagstukke wat hoofsaaklik op vroue betrekking het nie. Hierdie studie is vanuit 'n feministiese perspektief gedoen. Die navorsing is reflektief en op standpunt-teorie gebaseer. Die data is deur die analise van sekondêre data, asook die gebruik van primêre data i deur middel van onderhoude ingesamel . GGG in Suid-Afrika is geneig om oor ‘n uitgerekte tydperk plaas te vind en die mees waarskynlike oortreders is ‘n eggenoot of lewensmaat. Navorsing toon dat gemeenskappe geneig is om vroue as swakker en afhanlik van mans te sien. Wetgewing op die regte van vroue word deur vele mans as ‘n uidaging van hul legitieme superioriteit, ten op sigte van vroue, gesien. Vroue wat dus onafhanklikheid in hul verhoudings probeer uitoefen, word as bedreigings gesien en geweld word gebruik om hulle “in hul plek te hou”. Die Suid-Afrikaanse kriminele regstelsel het al vordering gemaak in terme van die beskerming van vroue teen GGG, maar mites, stereotipes en sosiale konvensies belemmer steeds die volle gang van die gereg. Die staat het in die verlede die private sfeer as buite sy jurisdiksie gesien. Die openbare/private sfeer digotomie bied uitdagings vir staatsregulering en vir die implementering van regulasies , en dit word veral duidelik in die geval van huishoudelike geweld. Daar word aangevoer dat aangesien GGG in die private sfeer plaasvind, dit onsigbaar bly. Hierdie navorsing het egter bevind dat GGG in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks dikwels in die openbare gemeenskapsfeer (deur diegene in die onmiddelike omgewing) opgemerk word, omdat baie mense in Suid-Afrika informele nedersettings woon.Hierdie navorsing het verder bevind dat ‘n GGG raamwerk vir menslike veiligheid ontwikkel moet word wat diegene wat die gevolge van GGG dra insluit. Indien vroue nie spesifiek as navorsingssubjekte geag word nie, bly faktore wat hulle spesifiek beïnvloed onsigbaar. Dit is belangrik dat analise van menslike insekuriteit begin om die omstandighede van vrouens se lewens in ag te neem. Vroue in Suid-Afrika leef in hoogs traumatiese omstandighede. In die bestryding van GGG is dit belangrik dat die slagoffers van GGG in ag geneem word en dat dit hulle toelaat om dit duidelik te maak wat hulle onveilig laat voel. Die skep van menslike veiligheid vereis dat bedreigings wat bydra tot GGG, naamlik armoede, geslagstereotipes en vooroordeel , ook aangespreek word. GGG in Suid-Afrika het ‘n epidemie geword, en plaas ‘n permanente beperking op vroue se lewens. Dit het ook ‘n blywende impak op die samelewing as ‘n geheel. Die veiligheid van die staat rus op die veiligheid van vroue. Solank as wat die staat versuim om GGG te bekamp en as ‘n ernstigge misdaad te erken, en vroue nie die beskerming van die staat geniet nie, is daar ‘n hoër moontlikheid vir die gebruik van geweld deur die staat teen sy eie burgers op ‘n groter skaal.

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Molapo, Tšoarelo. "A comparative analysis of the protection of women's labour rights in the apparel industries of the Southern African Customs Union member states of South Africa and Lesotho, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9164.

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Includes bibliographical references. The introduction of the African Growth and Opportunity Act agreements between the Government of the United States of America and eligible Sub-Saharan countries has helped to highlight the shortcomings of labour laws in certain African states. These shortcomings are particularly evident in the textiles and clothing industries of these developing African countries. Provisions were created by the act for eligible African countries to export products duty free to American markets. One of the products exported by Africa states are textiles. This research aims to examine the shortcomings and benefits of labour laws of South Africa and Lesotho, two countries who have been granted access for their textile exports into the United States of America. An examination will also be done of the labour laws in China and Taiwan as predominant investors and owners in the apparel industries of South Africa and Lesotho where labour disputes have arisen between the Asian factory owners and local staff. The research indicates that irrespective of geographic location, garment workers’ labour rights are neglected the world over, (especially those of women) and that multinational corporations deliberately seek to subcontract garments from those countries with less labour regulation in order to source products cheaply.

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Gordon, Dana. "Violation transformation : empowering women in the inner city of Johannesburg." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10191.

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"The gendered impact of Johannesburg water budget." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1374.

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M.A. Despite constitutional and legislative measures to promote gender equality, gender inequality pervades the South African political, social and economic sectors. It is imperative that government uses gender sensitive policy instruments to reverse these imbalances. Gender expenditure analyses on national budget votes reveal a perpetuation of gender inequality. This municipal study assesses Johannesburg’s water budget process using an analytical framework of three criteria: representation; participation and benefit accrued to women. It determines that administrative representation of women in Johannesburg Water is nominal, the drafting of the budget remains patriarchal and representation of gender concerns for water provision in the consultation phase is not evident. The participation of women in the consultation and approval phases cannot be quantified. Women benefit minimally as employees and as entrepreneurs. This study determines that there is a potentially significant gendered impact of Johannesburg’s water budget, which motivates for this policy instrument to be gender sensitive. Mr. H. Robertson Prof. Y. Sadie

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Dzebu, Munyadziwa Jane. "The perceptions of women with fibroids from diverse cultures regarding hysterectomy." Diss., 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2411.

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The purpose of this study was to explore and describe contributing factors that influence the perceptions of women with fibroids from diverse cultures regarding hysterectomy. The area of research was delimited to issues of hysterectomy among women with fibroid uterus. The study employed a descriptive explorative method and data were collected by means of structured questionnaires. The study was conducted in one academic referral hospital, over a period of six months. The respondents were the patients with fibroid uterus and the doctors and nurses in the gynaecological units of the hospital. The majority of the patients indicated that they were afraid of undergoing a hysterectomy because of the social stigma associated with this life-saving procedure, such as alienation or marginalization by members of their respective communities. The nursing staff and gynaecologists in the unit emphasized the deep-seated fear of hysterectomy amongst women from diverse cultures. The study found that women need information about their bodies and how they function. Health education is also needed for women and their communities. Research is needed amongst members of different communities and diverse cultures to voice their perceptions of women undergoing hysterectomy because of ill health. Health Studies M.A. (Health studies)

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Coetzee, Jenny. "Sexual and reproductive healthcare services for female street-and hotel-based sex workers operating from Johannesburg City Deep, South Africa." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/13033.

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Sex work is a crime in South Africa. With the prevalence and deleterious social and economic effects of HIV, in health literature sex work has often been understood in relation to the way that it intersects with the transmission of the epidemic. This positioning of sex work then inadvertently stigmatises sex workers who are often cast outside the rights-based discourses that characterise South Africa’s post-apartheid democracy. In order to address this problem, this study explored the perceived barriers and facilitators to sex workers’ accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRHC), gaps in the current service offerings relating to sex worker’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and the general experiences of SRHC amongst 11 female sex workers in Johannesburg, South Africa. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with these sex workers, who were based in Johannesburg City Deep. The resultant data were transcribed and subjected to a thematic analysis. The study shows that various structural and individual level barriers are perceived to prevent access to SRH. In particular, the analysis suggests that the disease-specific focus on sex worker-specific projects poses a barrier to sex workers’ accessing a complete range of SRHC services. Violence enacted by healthcare professionals, police and clients fuelled a lack of trust in the healthcare sector and displaced the participants from their basic human rights. It is also worrying that religion posed a threat to effective SRHC because some religious discourses label sex workers as sinners who are perceived to be excluded from forgiveness and healing. Finally, motherhood proved to be a point at which the participants actively managed their health and engaged with and in broad-based SRHC. Participants frequently only sought SRHC at the point at which an ailment affected their livelihood and ability to provide for a family. Taken together, these findings seem to show a range of formidable challenges to sex workers’ understanding of themselves in a human rights discourse. This study’s findings are of particular importance to rethinking the legislation that criminalises sex work, as well as healthcare initiatives geared both towards sex workers and women in general.

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Imasogie, Mosunmola Oluwatoyin. "A comparative study of aspects of gender equality under Nigerian and South African law." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/24512.

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Ngoh, Manka Sheila. "Rural women and their role in the expanded public works programme in Modimolla village, North West Province : an assessment / Manka Sheila Ngoh." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/16105.

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In the past, rural women were looked upon as being physically weak and were assigned the main role of child-bearing and child-rearing. In recent times, however, there has been recognition that women's roles go beyond the immediate household domestic and reproductive spheres into economically productive public spheres. Women are therefore recognized as agents of development as they play a vital role in society and contribute to socio-economic development. The main aim of this research was to focus on this sphere of life and examine the contribution of women through the case study of the EPWP project in Modimola village, North-West Province of South Africa. A qualitative research approach was used in this study in the form of in-depth interviews with a sample of the women who participated in the project. This was done to establish the role, benefits, and challenges women encountered in the fore-mentioned EPWP project. It was found that women had a very productive and active toile in the project, and contributed positively towards its effectiveness and success. This was however not sustainable largely due to failure by the Department of Public Works' officials to provide continuous leadership, as well as monitoring and evaluation of the project to ensure continuous improvement and sustainability. Thesis (M.A.(Sociology) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

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Adam, Ayesha Goolam Mahomed. "The application of the right to equality for women under international law in Southern African courts : a survey of five countries." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/8418.

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A significant proportion of the world's population are routinely subjected to abuse, torture, humiliation, starvation and mutilation simply because they are female, more so in Africa where women's rights are still often viewed as distinct from human rights. This raises the question of state responsibility for protecting women's human rights. Women, as much as men, are entitled to full protection of their rights and freedoms because they are human beings. A decade ago, the United Nations summarized the burden of gender inequality by stating that women composed one--half of the world's population and performed two thirds of the world's work, but earned only one tenth of the world's income and owned only one hundredth of the worlds property. A look at the constitutions of many Southern African states would suggest that women enjoy equality and access to first generation hunlan rights across the region. In most of these constitutions 'discrimination' on the grounds of gender is prohibited, but the governments frequently do not have the nlechanisms in place to enforce these constitutional provisions effectively and women are therefore subjected to widespread practices of discrimination, violence and inequality. Although party to international human rights instruments that advocate gender equality, African states still take a particularly selective view of women's human rights and make this contingent upon local custom. Then one might find that the constitution and civil law give women the same rights as men, but make these subject to traditional practices that limit women's rights. This dissertation will address the issue of how customary laws limit women's human rights and will examine the role of the courts therein. We will also briefly look at the application of international human rights documents in domestic courts. In order to constructively and comprehensively examine the topic within the space constraints dictated, I had to limit this paper to a survey of five Southern African states that were chosen because of their common language, cultural and legal dualism, colonial histories, and the availability of case law. This paper will cover specific issues that affect women in the personal law of marriage, divorce, property rights and inheritance and will be limited to those areas where most inequalities occur. The reason that this paper will concentrate on the above-mentioned issues is that family law is central to African social, political and economic life. The importance of family law in traditional African systems cannot be sufficiently emphasized as it has been noted that in any study of African traditional economic and political arrangcments, the notion of family impinges upon almost every area of community life. These traditional rules are not merely historical curiosities but are part and parcel of the living domestic law in most Southern African states. We will now examine these domestic legal systenls. Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

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Raliphada-Mulaudzi, Fhumulani Mavis. "Reproductive health rights of women in rural communities." Diss., 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/15852.

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Reproductive health is very important as it shapes a woman's whole life. Currently there are a lot of obstacles which deny women their rights to reproductive health. The aim of this research was to find out what obstacles deny women the freedom to enjoy their reproductive health in order to establish a contribution which can be used by the Department of Health to improve their services. Descriptive research was conducted, using a survey approach. Convenience sampling was utilized. Participants were selected from a sample of people attending the reproductive health clinic at a hospital and a clinic in the Northern Province. The findings indicate that women are not enjoying reproductive health rights due to low educational level, cultural and societal constraints, low socio economic status and the negative attitude of the providers, of reproductive health services. Contraceptives Family planning Health and gender Health rights Reproductive choice Reproductive health Reproductive rights Reproductive health care Women's rights Rural women Health Science M.A.Cur.(Nursing Science)

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Govender, Anneline Michelle. "African customary law : a constitutional challenge for gender equality." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5620.

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Hill, Cherry Ann. "Grave rites and grave rights: anthropological study of the removal of farm graves in northern peri-urban Johannesburg." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/20681.

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Text in English In a diachronic and multi-sited study that extended from 2004 through 2012/2013 I deconstructed the sociocultural dynamics of relocating farm graves from the farm Zevenfontein in northern peri-urban Johannesburg. The graves at the focus of the study were some seventy-six graves removed from a northern portion of the farm in 2004 for a huge development project that commenced construction in 2010, and other graves removed in the 1980s from portions of the farm developed for residential estates in the 1990s. The study explored the people who dwelt on the farm and created the graveyards, the religious processes entailed in relocating the mortal remains of ancestors, the mortuary processes of exhuming and reburying ancestors, the disputations between and negotiating processes of landowners and grave owners, and the demands and demonstrations by farm workers and dwellers seeking redress for past human and cultural rights infringements. Although the topic of farm graves is well-referenced in land claims and sense of place discourses and is not in itself a new topic, this study provides original and in-depth information and insight on the broader picture of ancestral graves and their relocation, including the structuring of a community and its leaders and followers, it suggests answers to the question as to whether ancestral graves/graveyards can successfully and functionally be relocated. Not only are religious aspects examined in the study, but also the sociopolitical and economic dimensions of relocating graves are fully scrutinised in the context of farm workers and dwellers’ political awareness of and astuteness to the social and economic potential of farm graves and their relocation. Anthropology and Archaeology M.A. (Anthropology)

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Murugani, Vongai Gillian. "Land use security within the current land property rights in rural South Africa : how women's land based food security efforts are affected." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10587.

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Rural women‘s land rights in South Africa remain secondary in spite of laws founded on a constitution that promotes gender equality. Patriarchal customary laws prevail and women‘s land rights and use security are inextricably linked to their relationships with their male relatives. Rural women are key producers of agricultural products due to historical and continued male outward migration, which has led to a feminisation of agriculture. Although women farm the land, their land use security is poor and can be further threatened by divorce or widowhood. Given that most vulnerable women are based in rural communal South Africa, how can their land rights be secured under the customary law framework? While the statutory law framework seems to provide a solution, it is less applicable in rural areas where customary law and traditional practices prevail. If statutory law cannot be superimposed on the existing customary law framework, how can women‘s land use be further secured to support their household food security efforts? What kind of framework can be introduced to strengthen women‘s land use security? A study was conducted in rural Limpopo Province to explore this complex and yet important question. A mixed methods approach comprising interview style questionnaires with a mixture of closed and open-ended questions, coupled with focus group discussions and observation was employed. Qualitative data from the focus group discussions and open-ended questions was analysed for common themes using content analysis. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS to establish descriptive data, frequencies and establish the relationships between variables. Results of the analyses were used for building blocks to develop a land rights framework that is more gender sensitive and secures the rights of the actual land users. Women‘s land rights were largely confirmed to be secondary and land use security was linked to the continued relationship to male relatives through marriage and natural blood lines. From these findings, a gender sensitive framework that enables and improves land-based food security efforts has been proposed. Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

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Sigamoney, Rosalind Florence. "The reasons that promote the resilience of a Somali community residing in Fordsburg/Mayfair, Johannesburg." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/22672.

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Since 2012 more than 295 676 migrants have arrived in South Africa. Somalis form one of the most visible migrant minorities in the country. Since various studies have been conducted into the mistreatment of migrants and its psychological effects, this study aimed to investigate the reasons that led to the resilience of the Somali community residing in Fordsburg/Mayfair, Johannesburg despite the challenges they encountered. The sample for the study was selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through the use of face-to-face semi-structured interviews and subsequently analysed following Colaizzi’s (1978) descriptive phenomenological method of data analysis. The findings of the study show that the participants experienced several challenges en route to South Africa and once they reached the country. Their resilience can be attributed to reasons such as individual determination to achieve change, the Somali communal culture, religion and spirituality, the family spirit, gender role adaptation and hard work. Psychology M.A. (Research Consultation)

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Sibanda, Nonhlanhla. "Challenges and prospects of the South African Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/22151.

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Research report in the Masters of Management in Public Policy, 2016 This research assesses the challenges and prospects of the South African ‘Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill’. The bill, passed by the National Council of Provinces in March, 2014 seeks to reinforce rights and opportunities in advancing gender equality and women empowerment in the country. The scope of this study is national and uses scenario planning to explore the future of the WEGE Bill through reviewing fifteen written parliamentary submissions and eighteen questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed to representatives from government, civil society organisations and the private sector. The findings of the study revealed that while South Africa has made great legal and policy strides in advancing gender equality, a lot still needs to be done to realise that end. The promulgation of the new WEGE Bill has also not provided sufficient justification or prospects for any greater impact in addressing gender inequalities more than any other existing laws or policies would. Greater political will and more robust processes of consultation and stakeholder engagement are essential to making decisions on future gender equality policy making. MT2017

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Hlatshwayo, Gladys Sissy. "A community education intervention for promoting and sustaining entrepreneurial behaviour in a women's group." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/896.

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The focus of this research essay was to provide a rich description and an analysis of the role that a community education intervention played in initiating and supporting sustainable entrepreneurship among a group of women in the Daveyton community, Johannesburg, South Africa. The transformation of the education system in South Africa is crucial, given the legacy of apartheid, which has left a vast number of black people without decent education. It has thus become essential for the government to put into place policies aimed at maximising participation in Adult and Community Education programmes, particularly for those groups who were deprived of basic education, the majority of whom were black women. Most of these women are still unable to interact with the mainstream economy, whether as business-owners or employees. Without access to the outside market, they are confined to meagre wages in the townships, either as domestic workers or child-minders. A community education programme should provide such individuals with education associated with the joy of self-improvement and the development of the individual, factors that can make it possible for the establishment of sustainable livelihoods. This inquiry is premised on the view that community education is crucial in enabling disadvantaged groups to fully participate in programmes that enable them to take control of their lives and exploit the opportunities presented to them. This research study is grounded within an interpretive paradigm, using qualitative research methods, to seek, discover and understand the role played by a community education intervention for promoting and sustaining entrepreneurial behaviour in a women’s group. Data was collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and observation with six black women and two black males, from Daveyton township in the East Rand. I used the constant comparative method for data analysis, and in searching for recurring themes and patterns. The findings of this research have revealed that the group of black South African women from Daveyton township were able to sustain entrepreneurship through a community education intervention by Eskom Development Foundation. Firstly, the programme aided them to recognise and combine available resources among themselves. Secondly, the programme opened up avenues for the establishment and development of the enterprise ‘Leratong Bakery’. In addition, the women were also able to use skills that they acquired from the programme in order to conform to standard norms of business. Furthermore, they went through a process of critical awareness, which resulted in a ‘change of mindset’. This change in turn enhanced their creativity and resulted in the growth and sustenance of the business for the duration of this study. The study concludes with a few recommendations that can possibly be used by all stakeholders involved in formulating community education programme policy. Mrs. N. F. Petersen

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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 Arts This 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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Lebaka-Ketshabile, Libuseng Sophy. "African women as moral agents : the moral implications of the status and role of women in their communities." Diss., 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17192.

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Traditional ethical views have tended to define moral agency from the patriarchal perspective. Seen and defined from this perspective, it has been maintained that women are not transmitters or teachers of good morals, let alone makers of sound moral judgments. This biased stance on women and moral agency is not only prevalent in Western traditional ethical approaches. It is also found in the thinking and practice of contemporary African society. Contrary to traditional ethical views on moral agency, both Western and African, this work argues that African women are good moral agents. They have always demonstrated moral responsibility through participation in the overall life of their society. To ensure maximum participation of all African women in society, the dissertation suggests that a process of conscientization for a liberative culture should become a priority for African society. Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology M. Th. (Theological Ethics)

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Selebogo, Mothepane Yaliwe Petunia. "An evaluation of the SADC gender and development protocol on equality, empowerment and gender based violence in South Africa (2008-2012) / Mothepane Yaliwe Petunia Selebogo." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/14290.

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Southern Africa must confront a myriad of challenges as it attempts to address effectively the needs and aspirations of its hundred million people, 40 percent of whom live in extreme poverty with per capita incomes ranging from $256 per annum in Zimbabwe to $5099 in Mauritius. The greatest challenge of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) continues to be the need to build a life for its people free from poverty, diseases, human rights abuses, gender inequality and environmental degradation. Gender activists played a lead role in innuencing the development and adoption, on the 17 August 2008. of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. In 2005, they undertook comprehensive regional research on sector-specific gender equality issues and gaps. Following the adoption of the SADC Gender and Development Protocol, gender activists came together between 2005 and 2008 to form cross-border and national alliances to undertake a campaign to inl1uence the content of the Protocol, as well as lobby for its adoption. The adoption of the Gender and Development Protocol is one of the fastest in SADC Protocol history. This study is an evaluation of the SADC Gender and Development Protocol. focusing on gender eq uality, women's empowerment and the reduction of gender based violence in South Africa. The protocol has a direct bearing on all its signatories in both the "developed" and ''developing'' countries within the SADC region. Furthermore, this research focused only on South Africa, one SADC country, in order to evaluate the progress made since the adoption of the Protocol in 2008. The most salient progress has been made with regards to women's representation and participation in state and political governance. Target-setting within the structures of the Protocol greatly contributed to appointment and promotion of women into leadership and decision-making positions. The target of 50% representation of women has already been achieved in Cabinet, the National Assembly, Provincial Premiers, Provincial Council of Provinces and Provincial Legislatures. Policies. strategies and plans have been put in place to address gender based violence. Despite legislative reform, trends continue to indicate that in South Africa there is still a gender division of labour. Fear of gender-based violence on the one hand. and real life experiences of gender-based violence continue to be deterring factors that keep women from progressing and advancing in the workplace, in schools and institutions of learning in business and in governance. Thesis (M. Soc Sc (International relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

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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, 2020 The 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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Moodley, Isabel. "The customary law of intestate succession." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8829.

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The title of this thesis is: The Customary Law of Intestate Succession. The African customary law relating to intestate succession has always been known to discriminate against women. The thesis therefore focuses on the customary law of intestate succession in the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland and the inroads they have made in improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of African customary law. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the topic of the research. It highlights the organisation of the intended research which comprises: a statement of the problem, the legal framework, research methodology and a summary of the chapter. Chapter 2 defines the general terms and concepts used in the customary law of intestate succession. This facilitates an understanding of the general principles comprising the body of law known as the customary law of intestate succession and lays the foundation for the country specific issues that are investigated in the following chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the recognition, application and development of the customary law of intestate succession in the country of South Africa. Chapter 4 considers the rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession in the West African country of Ghana. Chapter 5 explains the current rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession prevailing in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Finally, chapter 6 brings the thesis to a meaningful end, by criticizing the approaches adopted by the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland in improving the rights of women as far as the customary law of intestate succession is concerned. The chapter also presents various recommendations for improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of the law. Public, Constitutional, & International LL.D.

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Engelbrecht, Anna Margaretha. "A sociological study of the role of women in sport : a feminist perspective." Diss., 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/16746.

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Letlaka, Palesa Nthabiseng. "'Gendered histories and the politics of subjectivity, memory and historical consciousness - a study of two black women's experiences of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process and the aftermath.'." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/19861.

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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (History) February 2013 This study examines the gendered histories of two black women who both narrated their personal testimonies in self-authored narrations for public consumption, and who both testified at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It situates the politics of subjectivity, memory and historical consciousness within the social constructivist and hermeneutical theoretical frameworks of Butler and Ricoeur respectively; and through a generative process, working with their TRC testimonies and subsequent oral interviews, it examines self-narrativity, subject formation and the formation of female selfhood in the formation of gendered historical consciousness

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Roopnarain, Usha. "Women and the political process in a comparative context." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6840.

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Over the last few years there has been a escalation of interest in the study of femineity and women. The term "men" is used as an unmarked omnipresent category to symbolise humanity in general. Over the last two decades feminists have challenged the ideological and material requirements of such definite male bias. Feminists have built their position on the notion of 'the personal is political", feminists have raised a number of questions regarding the status quo in society. In this dissertation, the researcher does not aim to fill a descriptive void, but to demonstrate the theories and approaches to gender as well as suggest further areas for research. In the introduction, the researcher examines the wider academic background to the study as well as raising intellectual and political issues raised by feminists and postmodern theory. A basic axiom is that new intuition into social relations follow the investigation of cultural categories that have previously been taken for granted. The chapter on India draws attention to the ways in which femininity produced within the Chipko movement impinged on the relations between colonizer and colonized. The indigenous notions of gendered difference are constantly created and transformed in everyday interactions. Relations of power are constituent parts of these interactions. This experience is never comprehensive, hence it changes over time and space. Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1998.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Women's rights – South Africa – Johannesburg'

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