scholarly journals #Choose to challenge - the value of women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jabulile Ntuli
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
South African Women ◽  
Male Superiority

I choose to challenge the value of women in a South Africa based on gender roles and socialisation, leading to female inferiority and male superiority. Some South Africans display their gender roles based on cultural, societal and psychological behaviours of being a man or a woman. Keeping this in mind may help understand specific societal issues that South African women face. This essay investigates some prominent features that societal organisation has placed on gender that may lead to more significant problems if unattended.

A Growing Outcry of Gender-based Violence and Gender Inequality in South Africa : An Afrocentric Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
M.C. Moreroa ◽  
M.B. Rapanyane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
African Women ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
South African Women ◽  
Global World

The two practices of gender inequality and gender-based violence (GBV) are not peculiar to South Africans, as they also affect the African continent and the Global world in different shapes and forms. Whatever happens, when these two unacceptable behaviours and/ practices take form, women often end up being discriminated, sidelined and violated. Against this backdrop, this paper analyses the state of gender inequality and GBV in South Africa and finds common features which exist between the two. The central narrative of this paper is that the two notions are, at a very faster pace, becoming subjects of considerable debate and concern. This paper argues that the two notions have depressing effects on South African women. Afrocentricity is adopted in this paper in order to relevantly and positionally reflect on the central objective.

The Predicament of Women in a Postmodern World

Matatu ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
Dele Bamidele ◽  
Blessing Abuh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Patriarchal Culture ◽  
The Family ◽  
South African Women ◽  
Difficult Situations

Feminism has no unanimous acceptance in Africa, so women who are associated with it are regarded as deviants or radicals who have chosen to kick against the norms and traditions of traditional Africa. This study explores the plight of suppression and exploitation experienced by women and also revealed the dangerous and difficult situations that often reduce women to mental wrecks. Njabulo Ndebele’s The Cry of Winnie Mandela is the focus of this essay, as the novel accounts for the entrapment and subjugation of women caused by traditional laws and customs, as well as their determined effort to survive in a patriarchal culture. Njabulo examined the lives of five South African women in post-apartheid South Africa, who had to wait indefinitely for their absent husbands. This essay attempts to create awareness of the need for societal reforms in order to improve the lot of women in patriarchal societies and encourage cooperation between women in order to stand up to the challenges of life and assert their individual worth and value, as espoused in the novel. This study concludes that the subjugation of women by patriarchal societies is to the detriment of the family and society at large. Thus, there is a need to re-evaluate and redefine gender roles in African societies in order to establish mutual understanding and relationships between the genders.

scholarly journals When is a choice not a choice?: Experiences of individual agency and autonomy by South African female breadwinners

Image & Text ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Parry
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
Women's Voices ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
South African Women

ABSTRACT As part of a larger Master's study, this paper focuses on the individual experiences of agency and autonomy communicated by a group of South African women who have overcome traditional notions of gender through their role as primary financial provider for their families. Using data collected from in-depth, unstructured interviews, and reading these through a phenomenological feminist perspective, I shed some light on the perceptions of ten female breadwinners (FBW) in this paper. It is the aim of this research to represent these women's voices in order to understand how they make meaning of and negotiate their spaces and roles as breadwinners. In the course of the interviews and analyses, the realities faced by these FBW stemming from the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces expose the hegemonic and heteronormative prescriptions of gender that still exist within our society, often concealed behind constructions of reform advocating gender equality. Keywords: Female Breadwinner, South Africa, Gender Roles, Feminism, Psychology, Phenomenology.

THE SINS OF THE FATHER: GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Snodgrass
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Black Women ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
South African Women

This article explores the complexities of gender-based violence in post-apartheid South Africa and interrogates the socio-political issues at the intersection of class, ‘race’ and gender, which impact South African women. Gender equality is up against a powerful enemy in societies with strong patriarchal traditions such as South Africa, where women of all ‘races’ and cultures have been oppressed, exploited and kept in positions of subservience for generations. In South Africa, where sexism and racism intersect, black women as a group have suffered the major brunt of this discrimination and are at the receiving end of extreme violence. South Africa’s gender-based violence is fuelled historically by the ideologies of apartheid (racism) and patriarchy (sexism), which are symbiotically premised on systemic humiliation that devalues and debases whole groups of people and renders them inferior. It is further argued that the current neo-patriarchal backlash in South Africa foments and sustains the subjugation of women and casts them as both victims and perpetuators of pervasive patriarchal values.

Gendered Lending Practices: Enabling South African Women Entrepreneurs to Access Start-Up Capital

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Derera ◽  
Pepukayi Chitakunye ◽  
Charles O'Neill ◽  
Amandeep Tarkhar-Lail
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Financial Institution ◽  
African Women ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Start Up ◽  
South African Women ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study explores gendered lending and marketing practices of start-up capital to women entrepreneurs in South Africa. A multi-method research design, comprising of 6 in-depth interviews with experts, and a survey of 50 women entrepreneurs was adopted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs are experiencing gendered discriminatory practices embedded in lending practices used by financial institutions, thereby discouraging them to venture into non-traditional industries. Whilst financial providers may know their products well, many emerging women entrepreneurs in South Africa may find it difficult and costly to obtain information on the thousands of financial products available. Hence, women entrepreneurs resort to taking greater risks than necessary in order to get their businesses off the ground. Educating women on financial matters is extremely important if South Africa is to benefit fully from the untapped entrepreneurial talent that women possess. The study adds voice to the discriminatory lending practices faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Future research could explore the feasibility of establishing a financial institution which caters specifically for the needs of women.

scholarly journals Health system experiences of breast cancer survivors in urban South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 174550652094941
Author(s):  
Madeleine Lambert ◽  
Emily Mendenhall ◽  
Andrew Wooyoung Kim ◽  
Herbert Cubasch ◽  
Maureen Joffe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Health System ◽  
South African ◽  
Breast Cancer Survivors ◽  
Radiation Treatment ◽  
African Women ◽  
Total Mastectomy ◽  
South African Women

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer globally and among South African women. Women from socioeconomically disadvantaged South African communities more often present later and receive total mastectomy compared to those from more affluent communities who have more breast conserving surgery (which is less invasive but requires mandatory radiation treatment post-operatively). Standard chemotherapy and total mastectomy treatments are known to cause traumatizing side effects and emotional suffering among South African women; moreover, many women face limited communication with physicians and psychological support. Objective: This article investigates the experiences of women seeking breast cancer treatment at the largest public hospital in South Africa. Methods We interviewed 50 Black women enrolled in the South African Breast Cancer Study to learn more about their health system experiences with detection, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care for breast cancer. Each interview was between 2–3 hours, addressing perceptions, experiences, and concerns associated with breast cancer and comorbidities such as HIV and hypertension. Results: We found most women feared diagnosis, in part, because of the experience of chemotherapy and physical mutilation related to mastectomy. The importance of social support from family, religion, and clinical staff was fundamental for women coping with their condition and adhering to treatment and medication. Conclusions: These findings exemplify how interventions might promote early detection of breast cancer and better adherence to treatment. Addressing community perceptions of breast cancer, patient needs and desires for treatment, structural barriers to intensive therapies, and the burden of invasive treatments are imperative next steps for delivering better breast cancer care in Soweto and other resource-constrained settings.

scholarly journals An investigation into the financial barriers facing women entrepreneurs operating in SMMEs in Tshwane, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Chiloane-Tsoka
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Small Business ◽  
South African ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
African Women ◽  
Small Enterprise ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
And Gender ◽  
South African Women

The South African women emancipation policy statement and gender equality are critical tools established by government to eradicate poverty among entrepreneurs operating in small business. Khula was established to act as a financial wholesaler to emerging entrepreneurs who needed finance to start and grow businesses. The Small Enterprise Development Agency was established to provide training needs to small business operators. Lack of finance is a major stumbling block to women entrepreneurs reaching their full economic potential in South Africa. Financial collaterals are barriers for women operating in SMMEs in Tshwane. The objective of the study was to investigate the financial barriers facing women entrepreneurs in Tshwane when starting or growing businesses. In order to achieve the results a structured questionnaire and interviews were used as method of collecting data. A sample of 300 women operating SMMEs in six townships of the Tshwane metropolitan area was analysed per a quota of 50 businesses per township. The results indicate that women entrepreneurs lack the financial collateral that is demanded by financial institutions when applying for finance to start or grow their business.

scholarly journals The relationship and interpretation of clothing behaviour and identity of African South African women in the corporate world in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Maite Modiba
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
African Women ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
South African Women ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study addresses the relationship between the clothing behaviour and identity of African South African women in the corporate world, with reference to black identity and Western style of clothes. Central to these two issues the study tried to focus on the factors which may have an influence on the clothing behaviour of African South African women. Clothing as communication and factors which influence people's clothing behaviour were also covered to find out why people wear the clothes they wear. The sample consisted of African South African women (n =100) in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Research was conducted by means of a structured questionnaire. The qualitative method provided a systematic investigation of the topic. The research methods included descriptive and inferential Statistics. Three hypotheses were formulated for the investigation. Each of the clothing variables was examined relative to the hypothesized relationship. There were fifty-one clothing variables employed in the analyses. The results exhibited a need for ethnically influenced clothes for African South Africans. The findings indicate that there was symbolic meaning attached to ethnically influenced clothing and beads, and that the symbolism attached to clothing items can influence a person's clothing behaviour. Recommendations were noted and followed by the Conclusion.

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