College of Humanities

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An analysis of the links between poverty and gender at Vedriet farm in KwaZulu-Natal province.
(2022) Emmanuel, Thamsanqa Mncube.; Matse, Muzi Patrick.
This study aimed to describe the relationship between poverty and gender inequality. The study also sought to understand how gender inequality promotes poverty and to determine prevalent incidences linked to poverty and gender inequality. The study employed a qualitative research methodology in the form of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Purposive sampling was used to select 16 participants who met the minimum of four of the five criteria. Using Structural functionalism theory to conduct the study, the main findings revealed that females are at greater risk of poverty because of the social construct of gender. The literature reviewed confirmed that gender inequality is a major threat to poverty reduction. The study further revealed that younger and older women do not agree over challenging patriarchal practices in the community. Moreover, the study further revealed that the social construct of gender affects women negatively and harms men and boys who are regarded weak when they advocate for equal rights and opportunities. As a result, social restrictions discourage men and boys from deviation from traditional expectations. In addition, patriarchal practices and beliefs allow too much freedom to boys than girls. The practical implications of the findings are that poverty and gender inequality interventions need to concentrate on gender-related poverty differentials and consider access level to and control over resources at the initial stage. Moreover, analysis of gender relations and gender impact assessment must be a prerequisite for successfully implementing any poverty alleviation programmes, policies, and projects.
Are we there yet? exploring Black women academics’ experiences of navigating their belonging at a South African university.
(2022) Ngcobo, Bongiwe Mayibongwe.; Hlatshwayo, Mlamuli Nkosingphile.
In this research project, I explored and theorized women academics’ experiences of navigating and negotiating their belonging in a South African university. Through an exploratory case study, I purposely recruited 10 Black women academics to explore their experiences in higher education. To gain in-depth data and to respond to research questions, I used 25 qualitative semi-structured interview questions. I relied on intersectionality as a theoretical frame for analyzing and making sense of women academics’ experiences in the academy. The findings of this project reveal that women academics often must navigate and negotiate a deeply entrenched environment in colonization and micro-politics. The findings also show that women academics’ career progression is further negatively delayed by other factors such as the double burden of womanhood, marginalization, gender inequality, race, and inequality in higher education. I argue that there is need for some sector and institution-wide implementation, and possible policy interventions, for helping women academics enter, negotiate, and succeed at university. I also recommended that higher education institutions further draw attention to implementation and possible policies to have more women academics in an environment, which allows them to further their academic endeavors.
Assessing the impact of community structures in protecting forced migrant women in inner city Durban.
(2021) Maliti, Tamasha Nyambura.; Tshishonga, Ndwakhulu Stephen.
Forced migration has become a global crisis, with half of those being women. Forced migrant women are the most vulnerable in situations of displacement and resettling in host countries. Community structures, however, can play important roles in protecting, integrating and providing women with support in their host country. The purpose of this study is to assess the roles and impact of existing community structures in protecting and integrating forced migrant women in the inner city of Durban, South Africa. This study uses social capital and social networks as a theoretical framework to understand the role of community structures in the protection and integration of forced migrant women. The study used a qualitative approach, with in-depth interviews with 12 women who were forced migrants. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling through a local non-governmental organization working with refugees. Data were thematically analysed with respect to the study’s objectives. Results showed community structures played two main roles, first, in offering short-term assistance such as, short-term accommodation, food and medical attention to women. Second, in providing longer - term assistance, in the form of spiritual support, connection to work opportunities and reuniting families. Women’s bonding and bridging social capital were important for them in accessing a wider range of opportunities via community structures and in establishing close-knit social networks such as support groups and savings clubs. Community structures also hindered migrant women’s integration and protection, specifically, around women’s experiences of sexual and gender based violence and intimate partner violence, community structures reinforced traditional gender roles, and they had limited resources to support women. Issues of mistrust also impeded the women from accessing needed assistance from wider social networks in the city. As a result, some women remained isolated and not adequately protected, hindering their integration and access to support systems. This study suggests that strategies to improve forced migrant women’s integration and protection could include creating safe spaces for women. In addition, working with and building the existing community structures’ capacity can help develop better responses to the needs of women.
Class and racial inequality experienced by women of colour in post-apartheid South Africa, explored through selected South African literary texts (1987-2011)
(2023) Pillay, Shazlynn Juelle.; Malaba, Mbongeni Zikhethele.
South Africa is commonly referred to as the ‘Rainbow Nation’. This country is known as a melting pot of ethnicities. However, the legacy of apartheid is eternally woven into the fabric of the nation’s existence. This has shaped the identities of those born before and into the era of democracy. Women of colour have difficulties adapting to a post-apartheid, male-dominated version of South Africa. This study investigates the class and racial differences women experience in contemporary South Africa as represented in two post-apartheid feminist texts, along with an analysis of a text set and written during apartheid. My research focuses on Coconut (2007) by Kopano Matlwa, Onion Tears (2011) by Shubnum Khan, and You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town (1987) by Zoë Wicomb. Using Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality as the foundational theoretical framework, this research project argues that women should embrace every aspect of their heritage and identity to deal with the pressures of a variable socio-economic atmosphere. Matlwa and Khan’s novels are debut texts for these female writers and present characters who search for identity, yearn for belonging and struggle to assimilate while addressing women’s societal roles and the impact of an ever-changing socio-political environment. Wicomb’s interrelated short story anthology also deals with issues of identity, acceptance and the difficulties Coloured women experienced during South Africa’s darkest days. Each theme resonates with non-white women currently, just as in the past. Onion Tears focuses on three generations of Muslim women living in suburban Johannesburg. Khadeejah Ballim is a first-generation Indian woman who wonders if her place truly is in South Africa. At the same time, her daughter Summaya is caught between her South African and Indian identities. Summaya’s young daughter, Aneesa, often has difficulty connecting with her peers and understanding her community. Similarly, Coconut documents the lives of two young Black women living in Johannesburg. On the one hand, Ofilwe Tlou is born into a wealthy family, receives her education from private schools and is given every advantage. On the other hand, Fikile Twala, who hails from a township, strives to escape poverty by working hard to change her circumstances and reinvent herself. The novel indicates that class differences create social segregation, which is apparent in this society. Wicomb’s protagonist, Frieda Shenton, encounters class and racial issues from a gendered perspective throughout her life in South Africa, which influences her relocation to London during adulthood.
Exploring science educators’ reproduction and subversion of gender stereotyping in a College of Education in Nigeria.
(2021) Allu, Daniel Asilika.; Govender, Nadaraj.; James, Angela Antoinette.
The cultural production and reproduction of discriminatory gender practices in education and in society has been a global and local concern, thus attracting attention in current debates. Therefore, knowledge theorization aims at questioning and interrogating the socio-historical and patriarchal gender practices in the 21st century. A global transformation of gender may be one of the vital paths to empowering woman and the marginalized in education. In this study, gender equity, which is a process of attaining equality, is obstructed by socio-cultural relations of power, linked to discrimination, domination and entrenched stereotyping in society and is particularly now a focus too in science and science education. Science has been considered a male domain; a liberal feminist analysis views the space of women in science and science education as emanating from a long history of oppression of females in a patriarchal society. Therefore, orientations related to patriarchy, sexuality and culture currently dictate classroom engagements in science education, which impacts on student’s intellectual and career progress. However, an exposure to the impact of gender stereotype and inequality in science education is a possibility towards the intellectual, political, and economic transformation of females. This study explores six Nigerian science educators’ reproduction and subversion of gender stereotyping in physical and life sciences classes and is located within the critical interpretive paradigm. The research methodology comprised qualitative methods using questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, reflective journals, and collective reflections. A qualitative case study research design was used for the study. Then, I used purposive and convenience sampling techniques to select six experienced science educators with heightened gender awareness in a college situated in North Central Nigeria where the study was conducted. The narrative method employed captures the selection and experiences of science educators and allowed for a nuanced understanding of educators’ views about gender stereotype reproduction and subversion. The data were analyzed for themes using gender lens of Critical Theory (CT), Critical Feminist Reproduction Theory (CFRT) and Critical Consciousness Theory (CCT) regarding cultural production and reproduction and gender transformation. The findings reveal that the construct ‘gender’ is indeed social construction, repeated acts linked to identity construction of male and female science educators. In this study, educators in physical and life sciences classes are shown to implicitly and/or explicitly reproduce gender stereotypes, but sometimes to subvert discrimination, consciously and unconsciously. Furthermore, educators, especially the male pre-service teachers, collude to stereotype female pre-service teachers. Also, female pre-service teachers are equally complicit in their own oppression. It appears the science educators, male and female pre-service teachers are not explicitly aware of their complicit gender stereotyping roles in science education during teaching and learning engagements. It was observed that female pre-service teachers are often overtly deterred from participating in the science education space. The unconscious and conscious actions of stereotyping by educators towards their female pre-service teachers are likely to reinforce multiple oppressions in their charges that will impact their future teaching and gendered roles in class. A pedagogic transformative gender model of enabling a contradictory, transformative and political college space for science educators and pre-service teachers to negotiate power differentials for a new social gender order is then proposed for collective action.
Exploring the influence of men on their partner's use of contraceptives: A study of men in Umlazi, Durban, South Africa
(2023) Hlengwa, Philani Senzo.; Maharaj, Pranitha.
Exploring the psychosocial and socioeconomic experiences of single-female parent eMbumbulu.
(2023) Shezi, Philile Sinegugu.; Hlengwa, Wellington Mthokozisi.
The study explored social and economic experiences of single mothers in Umbumbulu, which followed a qualitative methodology enquiry. Results of the study show that single mothers in uMbumbulu are faced with the daunting task of providing for their children, which therefore, carries psycho-social and economic experiences which they have to overcome. Financial challenges as well as community stereotyping coupled with difficulties in balancing social life and providing for the family are some of the challenges‘ single mothers in uMbumbulu face. This study therefore recommends that Single-parents must participate in support groups led by social workers and support one another in light of their shared circumstances. There is also need for increased social workers in uMbumbulu to conduct programs which help single mothers with information and space to freely express themselves so as to become better and cope with responsibilities of providing for their children.
Gender struggles in contemporary South Africa: examining african women’s traditional spiritual roles in isiXhosa culture.
(2019) Bomela, Bizo Luviwe.; Mkhize, Gabisile Promise.
Debates on how societies organise in contemporary ought to be inclusive of gender. As much as these debates are not new, the gender discourse is escalating to levels never imagined. Discourses on gender tackle and confront inequalities between males and females; and are manifested in diverse traditional, cultural and religious practices across South Africa and the continent of Africa. It is in such institutions and spaces that, in South Africa, most women continue to be marginalised despite the attempts by the 1996 democratic government constitution, aimed at protecting human rights and dignity, including that of women. Such embedded gender inequalities affect the way of life of the African people because most women are no longer considered as the backbone of society as it was prior colonisation. Thus, gender relations not only affect women’s dignity but also undermine traditional spiritual protocols of amaXhosa, which often put women on the same pedestal as men. It is within such context that thesis adopted African feminism, social constructionist and intersectionality perspectives to examine roles that amaXhosa women in the Eastern Cape play in traditional spirituality that guides their cultural practices, which are highly patriarchal. The key objective of this research study was to examine traditional spiritual roles played by African women in isiXhosa society, in South Africa. The study asked the key question: What traditional spiritual roles are played by women in isiXhosa culture? The study used qualitative research methods to discover traditional spiritual roles that women have in isiXhosa society. Using one on one individual interviews, data was collected on traditional leadership roles, traditional healing roles of diviners and faith healers, similarities in tasks performed by men and women, and the impact of the roles women have in their communities. From qualitative data analysis, the study found that some women have traditional spiritual roles, which make them at the same equal footing as men. They play these roles as oodadobawo (senior sister with a status higher than that of a male) Queen mothers, faith healers and prophets and sometimes wearing all these “hats” depending on how gifted one is. However, the entrenchment of male-dominated western systems in most African societies, including South Africa, play a huge role in extending patriarchy, which contributed to pushing most African women to the margins and stripping them of their traditional roles. That was done by making males leading figures in society, at home, in the church, in state institutions etc. The study thus recommends that decolonised curricula focused on traditional systems of organizing society is need and that gender policies should look at traditional spirituality in its purest form to eradicate the evils of patriarchy.
Gender, religion, and migration: a study of Malawian Chewa and Yawo Muslim women in Durban, 1994-2017=Ubulili, Ezenkolo kanye Nokufuduka: Ucwaningo ngabesifazane abangamaSulumani baseMalawi abangamaChewa kanye namaYawo eThekwini 1994 kuya 2017.
(2017) Mbalaka, Joseph Yusufu.; Hiralal, Kalpana.
People move inside and between states as part of globalisation in the twenty-first century, looking for jobs, a family, and an education, fleeing violence, persecution, terrorism, and human rights violations, and coping with climate change, economic hardship, and natural disasters.1 This increased global migration has been a significant milestone in South Africa's post-apartheid transition. The opening of borders has led to an increase in women migrating across Africa, changing historically male-dominated immigration patterns. Muslim women now account for a fraction of the global migration flux. However, few studies have focused on Malawian women's migration experiences, highlighting the need for more research on women in post-apartheid South Africa. This study focuses on Malawian immigrants in post-apartheid South Africa, specifically Chewa and Yawo women. It examines their migration reasons, challenges, and assimilation of Muslim identities. The study highlights opportunities, socio-economic, and cultural obstacles faced by these women, providing a nuanced gendered history. Participants were chosen using snowball and purposive sampling. The study utilised gender, social history, oral history, and transnationalism theory to investigate thirty women's lived experiences and migration patterns. It found that gender dynamics significantly impact migration patterns and experiences in host societies. Women from Chewa and Yawo tribes were found to be more prone to abuse and exploitation than men. International migration often leads to social isolation and abusive relationships for women, highlighting power imbalances. Male immigrants earn higher wages than females, while female migrants send more money home. Chewa and Yawo Muslim women can use their strength to flee and show agency in their host country, potentially causing envy among conventional hosts. This usually leads to xenophobic attacks on foreigners. Hence, the study explores women's agency in migration, highlighting their struggles and aiming to shape their lives. It contributes to the historiography of migration in Africa and South Africa, and the scholarship on the "feminisation of migration." It is also a study about resilience, Africa in Islam, longitudinal experiences of communities, Pan-Africanist worlds, the persistence of memories, and the fluidity of culture, the regional history of Durban and first-generation migrants and labour practices. This dissertation is a trans-disciplinary study with history as the fulcrum. This study is crucial for understanding gender, memory, and African oral history, particularly for women immigrants. It highlights women's active participation in migration, coping strategies, and absorption into host societies. This dissertation covers essential aspects of post-Apartheid South Africa's immigration history. Iqoqa Abantu baphansi phezulu behla benyuka phakathi kwamazwe njengendlela kaqoqazwe ekhulwini leminyaka namashumi amabili nanye, bethungatha imisebenzi, imindeni kanye nemfundo, bebalekela udlame, ukunqunywa, ubunqolobi kanye nokunyathelwa kwamalungelo, ukushintsha kwesimo sezulu, ubunzima bezomnotho kanye nezinhlekelele zemvelo. Ukwanda kokufuduka ngobuqoqazwe kube yigxathu elibalulekile eNingizimu Afrikha emuva koguquko kwahamba ingcindezelo. Ukuvulwa kwemingcele kuholele ekwandeni kofuduko kwabantu besifazane a-Afrikha yonkana, kwashintsha umlando wofuduko obugcwele amadoda. Abesifazane bamaSulumane nabo bayabalwa kuqoqazwe wokufuduka. Nokho, izifundo ezimbalwa esezenziwe zigxile kubafazi baseMalawi mayela nesendlalelo sokufuduka, kugqamisa isidingo solunye ucwaningo ngabantu besifazane emva kwegcindezelo eNingizimu Afrikha. Impokophelo yalesisifundo imayelana nofuduko lwabaseMalawi emuva kwengcidezelo eNingizimu Afrikha ikakhulukazi abafazi bamaChewa nabamaYawo. Ihlola izizathu zokufuduka, izinselelo kanye nokulutha ubuzwe. Lesi sifundo siqhakambisa amathuba, ezomnotho kanye nemigoqwano yamasiko abhekene nabesifazane, kunikezwa izincazelo ezahlukene ngomlando wobulili. Ababamba iqhaza bakhethwa ngokuba kusetshenziswe isampula ye-snowball kanye nesampula ehlosiwe. Ucwaningo lwasebenzisa ubulili, umlando ngokwenhlalo, umlando ngobuciko bomlomo kanye nenjulalwazi ye-transnationlism ukuphenya izendlalelo zabantu besifazane abanga-30 kanye nokhondolo lokufuduka. Ithole ukuthi ubulili ngokwehlukana kuba nesisindo ngokubalulekile okhondolweni lokufuduka kanye nesendlalelo emiphakathini esingethe. Abesifazana ohlangeni lwamaChewa kanye namaYawo kwatholakala ukuhlukumezeka okuningi kanye nokuxhashazwa kunamadoda. Ufuduko ngokwezizwe luvamise ukuholela ezimweni zenhlalo ezikhishwa inyumbazana kanye nobudlelwane obunodlame kubantu besifazane, obugqamisa ukungalingani kwamandla. Abesilisa abazifiki baholelwa kangcono kunabesifazane, ngalowomzuzu abesifazane abangabafuduki bathumela imali eningi emakhaya. Ababesifazane abangamalungu enkolo yamaSulumani bangawasebenzisa amandla abo ukubaleka ukuze batshengise inhlangano esingethe kulelozwe, lokhu kunamathuba okudala ukungaphathi kwabasingethe. Lokhu kuholela esimweni sodlame ngokuhlasela abahambi. Ucwaningo luhlola izinhlangano zabesifazana zokufuduka, ezigqamisa owazo umzabalazo ohlose ukulolonga izimpilo zabo. Ifaka isandla kumlando wokufuduka kwabantu e-Afrikha naseNingizimu Afrikha, kanye nomfundaze "wokufuduka kwabantu besifazane." Kubuye kube isifundo ngokuzimisela, i-Afrikha kumaSulumani, isendlalelo eside ngemiphakathi, egxile kubu-Afrikha emhlabeni, izinkumbulo eziqhubekayo kanye nokuthamba kwamasiko, umlando wesifunda saseThekwini kanye nesizukulwane sokuqala sabafuduki nokukwenziwa okuthinta abasebenzi. Lolu cwaningo luyisifundo esinemixhantela olusekelwe umlando. Lolucwaningo lubalulekile ukuqonda ubulili, inkumbulo kanye nomlando wase-Afrikha ngomlomo, ikakhulukazi abesifazane abangabafuduki. Kugqamisa ukubamba iqhaza kwabesifazane odabeni lokufuduka, baqhamuke namaqhinga kanye nokugwinywa imiphakathi ebasingethe. Lomqulu ufaka izingxenye ezibalulekile ngomlando waseNingizimu Afrikha ngokufuduka emva kwengcindezelo.
Intimate partner violence against women living with and without HIV: contexts and associated factors in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia.
(2021) Koyira, Mengistu Meskele.; Khuzwayo, Nelisiwe.; Taylor, Myra.
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are overlapping or intersecting public health challenges. Intimate partner violence is considered to be strongly related to HIV infection among women in Africa. However, the evidence is not conclusive. Women who are abused physically by their partners seek medical treatment in public institutions, yet, in Ethiopia, the experience of healthcare workers (HCWs) in screening IPV among HIV-positive and HIV-negative clients is not fully understood Purpose: This study aimed to map the evidence of IPV in Sub-Saharan Africa, to measure the factors associated with IPV, to explore the experience of IPV against women living with and without HIV, and the health care workers' IPV screening experience in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia. Objectives 1. To conduct a scoping review of IPV among women living with HIV/AIDS in Sub- Saharan Africa. 2. To explore the lived experience of IPV against women using antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other outpatient services in Wolaita Zone. 3. To explore the experiences and challenges in screening for IPV among women who use ART and other health services in Wolaita Zone. 4. To measure the prevalence and associated factors of IPV among women living with and without HIV in Wolaita Zone. Methods: This is a mixed-methods study. I conducted both qualitative and quantitative studies.. Initially, I mapped the evidence of IPV among HIV-positive women in Sub-Saharan Africa using a scoping review. Then, I conducted an exploratory sequential design of mixed-methods research. An interpretative (hermeneutic) phenomenological design was used to explore the lived experiences of women who were living with and without HIV. Additionally, I used a descriptive phenomenological study design to explore the IPV screening experiences of 16 HCWs. I also used a comparative cross-sectional study comprising 816 women between 18-49 years who were living with and without HIV for the quantitative study. I used the standard questionnaire of the World Health Organization (WHO) multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women (translated). The scientific rigour, dependability, and credibility relating to this sensitive subject were maintained. I used STATA software, version 15 for the quantitative data analysis; NVIVO 12 assisted us in developing a framework, and Colaizzi's analysis for the qualitative data. I used the binary and multivariable logistic regression model for the quantitative analysis. Results: The scoping review provided a summary of the evidence of IPV experiences among women with HIV/AIDS. As this review has shown, the HIV-positive women were at considerable risk of IPV after disclosure of their serostatus to a male partner. Psychological and emotional abuse was the most common form of violence reported by the review. Subsequently, in the quantitative study, we found a high lifetime prevalence of IPV among all women in Wolaita Zone, 487 (59.68%, [95% CI:56.31%-63.05%]. It was slightly higher among women living with HIV, 250 (61.3%), than among those who were HIV negative, 238 (58.09%). Factors associated with IPV were the controlling behaviour of husband/partner [AOR=8.13; 95% CI: 4.93-13.42], poor wealth index [AOR=3.97; 95% CI:1.81-8.72], bride price payment to bride‘s family[AOR=3.46; 95% CI:1.74-6.87], women‘s decision to refuse sex [AOR=2.99;95% CI:1.39-6.41], age group of women [AOR=2.86; 95% CI:1.67-4.90], partner‘s family choosing a wife [AOR=2.83; 95% CI:1.70-4.69], alcohol consumption by partner [AOR=2.36; 95% CI:1.36-4.10], number of sexual partners [AOR=2.35; 95% CI:1.36-4.09], and if a partner ever physically fought with another man [AOR=1.83; 95% CI: 1.05-3.19]. Inappropriate legal punishment of the perpetrator and the lack of a supportive women's network to avert IPV were perceived as limitations by the women. There were HCW and health system-related challenges in screening for IPV. These challenges comprised a gap in the medico-legal report provision, absence of separate record-keeping for IPV cases, lack of client follow-up, and lack of coordination with an external organisation. Conclusions and recommendations: There was a high prevalence of IPV among women, both living with and without HIV. The extent of IPV and its presentation in the different forms (physical, sexual and psychological), which frequently overlapped, highlights the urgency of intervention measures. Women reported terrifying experiences of violence, which affected their health physically, mentally, and psychologically. There are also challenges concerning HCWs, health systems, and the clients, relating to screening for IPV. Scoping review revealed evidence of IPV experience among women with HIV/AIDS, evidence of how HIV status disclosure influences IPV, and proof of the association of socio-demographic characteristics with IPV. It was concluded that marriage arrangements should be by mutual consent of the marriage partners rather than being made by parents; it is advisable to involve males in all programmes of genderbased violence prevention to change their violent behaviours; there is a need for the arrangement of separate record-keeping of IPV cases at the health facilities and for standardising the medico-legal reporting system. Finally, this study emphasises the importance of executing more gender-equitable policies.
Isitabane of faith: an auto-ethnographic exploration of Isitabane lived reality in the Shembe Faith Tradition.
(2021) Mazibuko, Siphelele Sabathile.; Van Der Walt, Charlene.
(queer people) experience discrimination, isolation, exclusion and homophobic attacks due to their sexual orientation and gender identity in the South African contexts. LGBTIQA+ voices are made invisible and silenced through the use of Bible scriptures, culture, and tradition embedded in patriarchal systems. The aim of this study is to explore the lived reality of isitabane within the independent Shembe faith tradition, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study looks at the embodied experience of a queer persons within the African Independent Church (the Nazareth Baptist Church) through narrative and explores the experience of participants who witnessed her navigating her journey as a queer individual in the hetero-patriarchal church in KwaZulu-Natal. The researcher shares her experience and tells how she came to understand herself as a queer within this church, and how faith people responded to this identity. The study focuses on six snapshot themes and extracts six dominant themes (understanding lesbian sexuality as rejection of men rather than women attraction, a link between male violence and lesbian sexuality, a link between faith-heterosexuality and reproduction, a human being cannot be ditched, queer bodies and dress, and naming) from these snapshot themes and interview discussions, which form a significant part of the lived reality or embodied experience of isitabane identity within the independent Shembe faith tradition. Queer theory was used in this study, which took a phenomenological approach to explore the lived reality of isitabane within the independent Shembe faith tradition. The findings of this study challenge the essentialist perspective of ideological notions of gender and sexuality in association with sex assigned at birth. Findings suggest that the independent Shembe faith tradition and other African Independent Churches ought to be engaged in a contextual bible study, which may assist the church in reworking its vocabulary, policies, and related theories, in order to enable it to collectively engage and negotiate gender and sexual identities, as well as issues pertaining gender and sexuality in a life-affirming way. This will assist many silenced queer voices to be heard. Participants emphasise the oppression, isolation, discrimination, hate crime, hate speech, and homophobic attacks experienced by queer people within South African contexts, especially within its religious landscape, due to their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Militarisation and empire: an eco-feminist theological perspective in the context of South Korea.
(2022) Oh, Minwoo.; Siwila, Lilian Cheelo.
The Korean Peninsula has seen an increase in militarisation since the end of the Korean War. The US military deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) in Seongju County, South Korea in 2017. The deployment of THAAD confirms the phenomenon of militarisation in the name of national security. Militarisation is seen as linked to the notion of ‘empire’, and ‘empire’ has become a new form of sovereignty. The US military is the military empire that promotes hegemonic power in military activities of security. However, the deployment of the THAAD system has come at a cost to residents who are concerned with the damaging effects of THAAD on women’s lives and natural resources. This study interrogates how militarisation of the military empire affects women and natural resources through the lens of eco-feminist theories. The study employs a qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions were the instruments used to collect data. The data collected were analysed thematically. From the eco-feminist theories of the West, dualistic thought in the militarisation process by empire influences a division to superior privilege, and inferior degradation. In their argument, Christian triumphalism advocates militarisation. Militarised Protestantism, based on triumphalism, is exposed as militarised patriotism relevant to pro-Americanism in South Korea. However, the eco-feminist perspective from the Global South offers an alternative spirituality to respond to the destruction of the environment and the oppression of women. This alternative spirituality is the notion of Life in East Asian knowledge. Moreover, women's resistance against militarisation as a Western-centred socio-economic and political system is under scrutiny by the eco-feminists of the Global South. Therefore, this study discovered the subjecthood of Life as an alternative spirituality from the perspective of East Asian knowledge. The subjecthood of Life provokes liberation from militarised masculinity in women's resistance to the THAAD movement. The women's resistance that embraced the subjecthood of Life embodies all living beings and seeks to create a community that lives in harmony with nature. Thus, a women's theology of Life from an East Asian perspective to respond to militarisation and empire in the context of South Korea is suggested in this study.
Mother, daughter, sister, wife? interogating construction of South African Indian women's Identity – a study of South African Indian women playwrights and our plays.
(2022) Moodley, Devaksha.; Meskin, Tamar.; Young-Jahangeer, Miranda Eleanor.
This thesis interrogates the gendered constructions and representations of Indian South African women (ISAW), South African Indian women (SAIW), and/or South African women of Indian descent’s (SAWOID) identity through a study of such playwrights and their plays, including my own work. ISAW, SAIW and/or SAWOID lives are critically affected by the roles we are expected to perform in our families, namely those of daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Sylvia Walby (1990) distinguishes two key forms of patriarchy: public and private. Such a differentiation is particularly relevant to ISAW, SAIW and/or SAWOID who have long been confined to the private domain in South African Indian (SAI) communities and families for the purposes of patriarchal and cultural preservation (Govender, 1999, 2001). Thus, although great strides have been made in ISAW, SAIW and/or SAWOID’s lives, traditional patriarchal roles remain entrenched (Rajab, 2011). Theatre, particularly in this study playwriting, offers SAIW like myself, an empowering public space to articulate our own subject positions (Govender, 2001). The study therefore adopts an autoethnographic and practice-based research (PaR) approach, methodological modes that are rooted in each individual’s creativity and experiences. Autoethnography and PaR connect in my thesis through the play I have written and directed as a primary part of this study, Devi (2019). Furthermore, the research explores the theatrical work of ISAW, SAIW and/or SAWOID through a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with selected playwrights and a textual analysis of their selected plays. In undertaking such a study, I unpack the politics of identity construction through a feminist poststructural framework. Principally, I assert that Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), as conceptualised by French philosopher Louis Althusser (1971, 2006), especially those of family, religion and culture, are powerful ideological constructs. These ISAs strongly shape our experiences and the construction of our identities, which paradoxically, are both personally chosen but also socially regulated (Hall, 1997; Weedon, 1997; 2004). As a SAIW playwright, I am critically examining the specificity of the SAI (diasporic) community and how we continue to maintain traditional patriarchal values postcolonialism and post-apartheid. The often marginalised yet vital voices of ISAW, SAIW and/or SAWOID playwrights challenge the predominant patriarchally embedded socio-cultural practices of SAI communities and families, offering a dynamic “re-representation of brown female identity” (Naicker, 2017: 39).
Perspectives and experiences of pregnancy among three generations of women in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2023) Blose, Thobeka S'Busisiwe.; Maharaj, Pranitha.
For the past few decades, there has been numerous studies done on pregnancy and factors that influence pregnancy. The rise in pregnancy among young people has led to an increasing concern as to what is the cause of it. Women across all generations have different perspectives and experiences of pregnancy outcomes. There might be an unwavering concern as to if mothers from across the three generations investigated influence their daughter’s outcome and perspectives of pregnancy. However, mothers have the minimal influence of their daughter’s pregnancy outcomes. This study aims to explore the influence of three generations namely grandmothers, mothers and daughters on pregnancy outcomes. All women were living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Telephonic in-depth interviews were held with fifteen women, five from each generation. The interviews suggest that mothers do not solely influence their daughter’s pregnancy outcomes, but there are others factors such socio-economic factors which contribute to the pregnancy outcome. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that sex education remains taboo in most families. The findings also shed light on how unplanned pregnancies are caused by a lack of understanding, stigma, and knowledge about contraception. The study suggests that the intendedness of pregnancy must be revised from a more multidimensional and structural perspective in light of shifting demographics, community norms regarding sex, marriage, and contraception, as well as advancements in social research.
Socio-cultural factors influencing intimate partner violence among school-going young women (15−24 years old) in Maputo-City (Mozambique)
(2021) Maguele, Maria Suzana Bata.; Khuzwayo, Nelisiwe.; Taylor, Myra.
Although there is increased awareness about intimate partner violence (IPV) since the 2013 WHO report, providing solutions to address the problem remains a concern. According to the WHO (2020), research investigating factors underpinning IPV among young women remains of particular importance since the prevalence around the world is still escalating. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) carries the heaviest burden of intimate partner violence (36.6% of the global estimates). The burden is skewed toward young women aged 15−24 (19% to 66%) and is a public health concern (2, 5). Cultural and contextual geographical overlap of risk factors elevates the chances of early occurrence of IPV. Thus, the World Health Organization encourages integrated and contextual prevention programs to promote awareness and gender equality, targeting adolescents and young girls for effective interventions. However, the harmful social norms and the acceptance of the males’ dominant role in society perpetuates gender inequality to the detriment of females. Although the Mozambican constitution entrenches gender equality, these negative, harmful norms and the community acceptance of violence and male-dominant norms are upheld by society and place younger women in a subservient role and at increased risk of IPV (6-8). Cultural practices such as lobola, where the brides' families receive gifts and money, and in exchange, their daughter joins the husband’s family, were reported as promoting violence. The rationale for this is that some families do not allow their daughters to divorce when their partners abuse them because of the stigma and the fact that they would need to return the acquired lobola (8, 9). Although it is acceptable and normal for men to have more than one partner in some societies, this is likely to promote disharmony and lead to violence (6-8, 10-12). Further, with the current prevalence of epidemics such as HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the risk of multiple sexual partners can affect the health outcomes of all women (13-15). IPV is deeply entrenched in cultural practices and decision-making processes. Men make all the decisions concerning their relationship and women’s sexual and reproductive health. Prevention programs have been mainly addressed towards adult and ever married or cohabiting women. There is no available data quantifying the burden of IPV and the prevalence and contextual factors influencing intimate partner violence among younger women in Mozambique. Thus, the prevention of IPV among this group is one of the main challenges regarding reducing the prevalence of IPV. Purpose The study aimed to determine the prevalence and investigate the socio-cultural factors influencing IPV among younger school-going women in the KaMpfumu district, Maputo city. Objectives • To conduct a scoping review of the evidence of socio-cultural factors influencing IPV among young women in SSA • To explore individual and socio-community factors influencing IPV among school-going young women in KaMfhumu district, Maputo city • To estimate the prevalence of physical, sexual and psychological violence among school-going young women in KaMfhumu district, Maputo city • To identify contextual risk factors associated with IPV among young women in KaMphumu district, Maputo city • To inform a model of a preventive intervention to target school-going young women in Maputo city Methods The study, which used mixed methods, employed an exploratory sequential design using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It was underpinned by the Social-Ecological Theory (1), based on the evidence that a range of interactive factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels explain the risk of IPV. Phase 1 was a scoping review study carried out to determine the extent to which studies on socio-cultural factors influencing IPV among young women (15−24 years) have been conducted. Further, it determined how well different geographic areas are represented and whether the methodologies used are sufficient to describe the prevalence and risk factors associated with IPV among young women in Sub-Saharan Africa. We used online databases to identify published studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines by Arksey and O’Malley were used to select studies, and primary studies were assessed using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool, version 2011. Thematic content analysis was used to summarize the findings of the scoping review. Phase 2 of the study used an exploratory, descriptive qualitative study design. We used purposive sampling to enrol 66 participants. We held six focus group discussions, each comprising 10−12 female students in schools in the KaMpfumu district, to explore the study objectives. The data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach. Phase 3 was a cross-sectional study conducted among younger women aged 15−24 years attending schools in the KaMpfumu district, which used a questionnaire to investigate the study objectives. We used a probability proportional random sampling strategy to recruit participants. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, informed by the exploratory study results and the combined questionnaire from the WHO Multi-country surveys of violence against women. Binary and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, investigating the association between IPV and the predictors. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported, and for statistically significant associations, p<0.05. Results The scoping review results revealed that the majority of publications, 8 (61.5%), reported cross-sectional studies, while 4 (31.5%) were qualitative studies. Using a customized quality assessment instrument, 12 (92.3%) studies achieved a “high” quality ranking with a score of 100%, and 7.7% of the studies achieved an “average” quality ranking with a score of 75%. The scoping review results show that while the quality of the studies is generally high, research on socio-cultural factors influencing IPV among young women would benefit from a careful selection of methods and reference standards, including direct measures of the violence affecting young women. Prospective cohort studies are required linking early exposure with individual, community and societal factors and detailing the abuse experienced from childhood, adolescence and youth. The qualitative study results revealed four main themes that emerged from the data and included: 1) (Individual level), related to knowledge of young women about IPV through witnessing friends being physically abused by their partners, from friends sharing personal experiences of IPV and experiencing the accepting attitudes of their mothers toward IPV; The meanings that young women give to the occurrence of IPV viewed as a violation of the human rights of women; The alcohol use a contributing factor for IPV and the economic status of women leading to acceptance of IPV. 2) (Relationship level) related to the Influence of friends. 3) (Community level) related to religious beliefs that placed men at the head of the social order above women and 3) (societal level) related to factors promoting acceptance of IPV, and these included social acceptance of violence and the male chauvinism; The recommendations advocated by the young women to prevent IPV, and these included the promotion of awareness about IPV and the use of support services for the victims and the need to create specific IPV counselling centres for young women to meet their needs and to allow the counsellors to screen for other potential sexual and reproductive problems which affect young women. The quantitative results revealed that of the 413 participants, 248 (60%) (95% CI: 55.15-64.61) had experienced at least one form of IPV in their lifetime. This includes one act of psychological or sexual, or physical violence. Of the 293 participants who had had a partner in the previous 12 months, 186 (63.4%) (95% CI: 57.68-69.00) reported IPV in the 12 months before the data collection. Psychological violence was the predominant type of violence, with lifetime prevalence reported by 270 230 (55.7%) and over the previous 12 months, by 164 (55.9%) young women. The risk of IPV was associated with young women lacking religious commitment (AOR, 1.596, 95% 272 CI: 1.009–2.525, p=0.046) and if the head of the young women’s household was unemployed (AOR, 1.642 95% CI: 1.044–2.584, p=0.032). Conclusion The prevalence of IPV in young women attending schools in Maputo is high. Those young women not committed to religion, young women whose head of the household was unemployed, young women with a much older and employed partner and young women’s beliefs about male superiority emerged as important socio-cultural factors influencing IPV in the study setting. The findings thus confirmed the contextual gaps that may hinder programs aimed at preventing IPV among younger women. The results highlighted socio-ecological factors that interact at the individual, community and societal levels in fostering IPV risk. Recommendations This study highlights that the government’s policies to reduce IPV should incorporate the contextual socio-cultural factors that emerged, and interventions need to consider a multilevel approach. The educational sector should also develop comprehensive programs that integrate socio-economic empowerment strategies to increase young women’s autonomy to decide about their lives. There is also a need to address religious beliefs from their cultural perspectives in such programs and improve social interactions that promote violence-free relationships. Community development interventions to reduce IPV are required to ensure effective and supportive programs tackling gender-egalitarian norms, to safeguard the physical, sexual and emotional wellbeing of young women in Maputo city.
Textual representation of the social construction of womanhood and gendered identity: a case of selected Eswatini women poets.
(2022) Langa, Siphiwe Angelica Angela.; De Meyer, Bernard Albert Marcel Sylvain.
The patriarchal society of Eswatini entrenches numerous unfair practices against women. Cultural elements ensure that women are kept at a perpetual position of disadvantage. The socialisation of females and males at different levels of society, including in families and schools, promotes a social divide between the two sexes. The suffering of women epitomises coloniality; women serve the interest of men in the same way that the colonized served the interests of their masters. Since women’s voices have been systematically muted, they do not speak out against their oppression; women are the subalterns who cannot speak and thus they absorb their suffering in subdued silence. Moreover, they self-categorise with other women who are facing a similar plight. This research, therefore, sought to discover how poetic texts by selected Swati women poets represent the social construction of womanhood and gendered identity as a form of social action that contests the dominant discourses in society. Ten poems, spanning three decades, written by six women poets were selected on the basis of their feminist thematic content, an additional five oral poems were included to interface the discussion of the ten poems. The primary poetic texts were analysed by applying principles of interpretivism and narrative inquiry and by relating to cognitive poetics principles. Theories that guided the analysis of the poems were postcolonial theory, a wide range of feminist philosophies and selfcategorisation. Findings from the study revealed that poetic texts enable women poets to exploit figurative language as a vehicle to expose social ills that society perpetrates against women. Exposing the issues creates an opportunity to address those concerns that are considered taboo since it is ‘unSwati’ for women to speak out against women’s oppression. Findings from studying the poems revealed that: with the exception of a few confident women, generally, womenfolk in Eswatini are treated as domestic slaves; they suffer a myriad of abuses including emotional abuse, conjugal deprivation, physical abuse, sexual abuse and economic deprivation. Also, it was revealed that women’s abuse has negative effects on the youth and the society at large. In spite of these abuses, the texts showed that women in the country have a preferred identity. Furthermore, it was discovered that the key theoretical insights were significant in enabling an understanding of the construction of womanhood and gendered identity in Eswatini. While society has constructed womanhood to be a category of the oppressed, women poets, on the other hand, create a preferred identity of confident and independent women. It is recommended that similar research in future should include poems written by males, since men are implicated in the gendered oppression of women.
Unpacking the social constructions of motherhood: exploring mother presence among young African women=Ukuthukululwa kwezincazelo zomphakathi ngobumama: Ukuhlola ubukhona bukamama kwabesifazane abasebasha bama-Afrika.
(2022) Majola, Thobelani Nompilo.; Maharaj, Pranitha.
The experience of pregnancy and childbirth are life changing for women. In most African societies, childcare is often a woman’s responsibility. The motherhood journey of a young woman may be significantly impacted by the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. The presence of a biological mother is regarded as important in all stages of development, particularly for female children. However, mothers are absent for a number of reasons including their death. The absence of a biological mother exposes children to various challenges, including poverty, poor educational attainments and health issues. A growing body of research in South Africa has focused on father absence; however, few has explored mother absence and the implications this has on children. Therefore, this study aimed to unpack the meaning of motherhood as socially constructed by young African women in a township of KwaZulu-Natal province. The study sought to explore the perspectives and experiences of young women, taking into consideration the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. A qualitative research methodology was employed and data was obtained through telephonic interviews with 20 young women who grew up living with the presence of their biological mothers as well as 20 young women who grew up in the absence of their biological mothers. Young women were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. The findings of the study suggest that the presence of a biological mother was significant for women who fell pregnant at a young age. Even though grandmothers and extended family members were actively supporting young women who had absent mothers, the presence of a biological mother was deemed essential for women. The transition from girlhood to motherhood was accompanied by numerous implications for young women. Financial challenges stemming from unemployment, poor economic backgrounds and father absence affected young mothers. This negatively impacted education and career aspiration of certain young women. The study recommends the involvement of families, government and private stakeholders in supporting young mothers. This can be achieved by enhancing family support programmes within communities. Furthermore, the promotion of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) is deemed important for the reduction of high rates of unemployment among young women in South Africa. Iqoqa Isimo sokukhulelwa kanye nokubeletha siyayiguqula impilo yabesifazane. Emiphakathini eminingi yase-Afrika kungumsebenzi womuntu wesifazane ukunakekela izingane. Uhambo lobumama oluhanjwa ngumuntu wesifazane osemusha lungachapazeleka kakhulu ngokuba khona noma ukungabikho kukamama omzalayo. Ukuba khona kukamama omzalayo kuthathwa njengento ebalulekile kuwo onke amabanga okukhula, ikakhulukazi ezinganeni zamantombazana. Nokho-ke, kuyenzeka omama bangabikho ngezizathu ezahlukene okungabalwa kuzo ukushona kwabo. Ukungabikho kukamama omzalayo kuletha izinselelo eziningi kubantwana. Kungabalwa kuzo ububha, izinkinga zokungasebenzi kahle esikoleni, kanye nezinkinga zezempilo. Ucwaningo oluningi eNingizimu Afrika lugxile kakhulu kobaba abanyamalele; kodwa-ke lumbalwa oluhlola ukungabikho kukamama kanye nemithelela yalokhu kubantwana. Ngakho-ke, lolu cwaningo luhlose ukuphenya ukuthi buchaza ukuthini ubumama ngokwendlela abazibona ngayo abesifazane abasebasha bama-Afrika elokishini lasesifundazweni saKwaZulu-Natali. Ucwaningo lwalufuna ukuhlola izindlelakubuka zabantu besifazane abasebasha kanye nendlela impilo yabo engayo uma kubhekwa ukuba khona nokungabikho kukamama omzalayo. Kwasetshenziswa indlelakwenza eyikhwalithethivu kwazise ukuthi imininingo yatholakala ngezingxoxo ezenziwa ngezingcingo kubuzwa imibuzo kwabesifazane abasebasha abangama-20 abakhula behlala nomama ababazalayo, kanye nabangama-20 abakhula bengekho omama ababazalayo. Kwaqoqwa abesifazane abasebasha ngenhloso kanye nangokuqoka okunikezelanayo. Imiphumela yalolu cwaningo ikhombisa ukuthi kubaluleke kakhulu ukuba khona kukamama omzalayo uma abesifazane bekhulelwa besebancane. Yize ogogo kanye namanye amalunga omndeni ayekhona ukusiza abesifazane abasebasha omama babo ababengekho, ukuba khona kukamama omzalayo kuyinto ethathwa njengebalulekile nedingekayo. Ukudlulela ebangeni lobumama usuka ebuntombazaneni kuhambisana nemithelela eminingi kubantu besifazane abasebasha. Izinkinga zezimali ezibangelwa ukungabikho kwemisebenzi, amakhaya ahluphekayo, kanye nokungabikho kobaba, kuyabathikameza omama abasebancane. Kuthikameza nemfundo kanye nezifiso zabathile abesifazane abasebasha. Ucwaningo luphakamisa ukuthi imindeni, uhulumeni kanye nabanye abantu abathintekayo ukuba baxhase omama abasebasha. Lokhu kungenzeka ngokukhuthaza emiphakathini izinhlelo zokuxhasa imindeni. Okunye futhi, ukuthuthukiswa kwamabhizinisi amancane aziwa ngeSmall, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) kubalulekile ekuncishisweni kwamazinga aphezulu okuntuleka kwemisebenzi kubantu besifazane abasebasha eNingizimu Afrika.

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