Browsing by Author "Cherop, Cathryne."

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The burden of affliction: a literary analysis of representations of HIV-positive women and girls in selected southern african texts.
(2022) Cherop, Cathryne.; Mkhize, Thulani.
This thesis proceeds from the understanding that literature is the mirror of society, reflecting problematic features, failures to provide social justice, and attempts to live with dignity and hope. Statistics show that Zimbabwe and South Africa have among the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world, with a prevalence of 18.9% and 12.7% in South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively, of adults afflicted, and women are much more vulnerable to the infection than men. Literary responses give voice to the perception and impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. This thesis examines the fictional representation of HIV-positive women in a sample of four selected Zimbabwean and South African novels. The literary texts that are examined are: Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow (2001), Lutanga Shaba’s Secrets of a Woman’s Soul (2006), Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope (2006) and Sindiwe Magona’s Beauty’s Gift (2008). The study strives to examine the plight of HIV-positive women through an analysis of the characterisation and the authors’ representations of socio-economic and cultural burdens suffered by these women, as well as their coping mechanisms. My analysis of the agency of women characters in the chosen stories is underpinned by the theory of African feminism, which engages with, critiques and develops Western feminism, hinged on African women’s hostility to Western domination and their heritage in African beliefs and cultures. Lastly, the theoretical concepts of stigma, shame and sexuality will be explored.
Liberating the potential of Kenyan women in Margaret Ogola's novels.
Cherop, Cathryne.; Stobie, Cheryl.
The research in this dissertation examines Margaret Ogola’s portrayal of female characters in three of her four novels, namely: The River and the Source, I Swear by Apollo and Place of Destiny. The main argument in this dissertation is that: through liberating the potential of Kenyan women in the texts, the author attempts to empower women. Of primary concern to this study is the way Ogola unleashes the potential of women through her narratives by analysing the impending liberation of Kenyan women in her fiction. I examine how Ogola restructures the image of women using different strategies to influence and boost women’s liberation and independence in their changing society. I further examine the classification of female characters: those who subscribe to traditional and tyrannical female socialisation, and those who go beyond the chains of patriarchy and advocate for emancipated femaleness. I analyse the traditional practices and cultural beliefs that bar women’s liberation and their progress, and also examine how the author privileges and gives voice to her female characters in their bid for liberation and independence. The analysis justifies the author’s aims to unmask the biased image of women in Kenyan society as demonstrated by her texts. Lastly, I analyse the principle of gender equality, and examine how the author gives cultural legitimacy to female power in her works of fiction. In this regard, my research is guided by African feminism theory and post-colonial studies. The analysis also takes a sociological approach as a focal point that informs the study on the plight of women and girls in the Kenyan context. I conduct my analysis in this study in a way that not only seeks to engage with the literariness of each of the primary texts, but also highlights the socio-economic value inherent in the texts, as well as how they function as vital tools for the liberation and independence of Kenyan women in the present time. The fourth novel, Mandate of the People (2012), is intentionally left out of my research because many of the issues tackled in it are similar to those found in the first three novels.