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Item 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.Item 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.Item 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. 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.Item 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.Item 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.