scholarly journals Expanding the suite of measures of gender-based discrimination: gender differences in ablution facilities in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renier Steyn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Shopping Centres ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
Respective Number

 International treaties, national legislation and local by-laws all advocate the equal treatment of men and women, but claims of gender-based discrimination continue. Indicators of discrimination against women, including employment ratios and differences in income, show that there have been considerable gains in the recent past. These measures are, however, often biased. In this study a different, specific and concrete method of describing and detecting discrimination is presented, namely the difference in the number of ablution facilities provided for each gender group in public spaces. Ablution facilities at airports, train stations and shopping centres in four major South African cities (N=128) were inspected. Medium to large differences in the respective number of facilities were found (eta2 .05 to .13), with women receiving fewer service facilities than men. These results suggest that, despite progressive legislation and vigorous affirmative action in South Africa, local women are still being discriminated against on a very concrete, visible level. The effectiveness of the measurement tool is also discussed.

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.

YOUTH WELLBEING IN SOUTH AFRICA: WHAT DIMENSIONS SHOULD WE MEASURE?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
South African ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Economic Relationships ◽  
African Cities ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
Selection Of

There is growing interest in the development of measures and indexes of youth wellbeing. However, there has been a limited discussion on indicators to measure and select them. This paper reports on the results of a qualitative study on the selection of indicators to measure the wellbeing of young people in South Africa, and reflects on the relevance of the content of their values in choosing indicators for measuring their wellbeing. The data used in this analysis is based on telephone (9) and email (6) interviews conducted with 15 young people (male=5, female=10) aged 22 to 32 from five South African cities during July 2010. In the interviews, participants were asked to identify five issues they considered important to their lives, after which they were asked to rank them in order of importance. The issues indicated by the participants are described and discussed in six dimensions: economic, relationships, spiritual and health, education, time use and material. The indicators developed from this study are discussed in terms of their relevance for use in a measure of youth wellbeing in South Africa.

scholarly journals NOTES ON SPATIAL-STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA -THE 1990s

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermanus S. GEYER
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Urban South ◽  
World Class ◽  
Urban Business ◽  
South African Cities

Informal businesses used to be something that was only tolerated in the former black townships during the years of apartheid. Since then the informal business sector has become an integral part of the central business setup of cities in South Africa. It not only serves to widen the security net of the urban poor in cities, it also represents the outcome of the democratization process in the country over the past fifteen years. Yet, there has been a tendency amongst local authorities to take steps to reduce the footprint of this sector in the urban environment in recent years. This trend ties in with the new approach of government to transform South African cities to become ’world class’ centres - a step that is aimed at making the cities more visually acceptable to visitors from abroad. In this paper an attempt is made to demonstrate the importance of the informal sector within the urban business makeup and to show what role it played in the spatial-structural evolution of the urban economies during the 1990s. The paper analyzes the structure of the urban business sector as a whole and structurally links the formal and informal sectors, demonstrating the importance of both sectors in the economic makeup of the cities. It analyses the structure of the informal sector and shows how different layers of the sector potentially relates to the formal urban sector.

Urban history in the new South Africa: continuity and innovation since the end of apartheid

Urban History ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
VIVIAN BICKFORD-SMITH
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Urban History ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
New South ◽  
New Work ◽  
Small Field ◽  
African Cities ◽  
South African Cities

The Soweto uprising of 1976 confirmed to most observers that the anti-apartheid struggle (in contrast to anti-colonial struggles in many other parts of Africa) would be largely urban in character. This realization gave impetus to a rapid growth in the hitherto small field of South African urban history. Much new work predictably sought to understand the nature of conflict and inequality in South African cities and its possible resolution.

Information Systems and Technology in South Africa

2005 ◽  
pp. 1497-1502
Author(s):  
Anesh Maniraj Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Informal Activity ◽  
Formal Economy ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
First World ◽  
South African Cities

South Africa, like most of its African neighbors, has a dual economy that sees formal and informal trading taking place side by side. Walking down many of the main streets of South African cities, one can immediately see the informal traders conducting their trade on the doorsteps of established retailers. Many of the formal traders complain about the informal activity and its impact on their businesses. However, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship that ensures their peaceful coexistence. For many foreigners, there is the perception that South Africa is a jungle with lions and tigers running around the streets and wind-up telephones as a means of communication. This is, however, far from the reality. Technology in the formal economy is almost as good as and sometimes better than it is in the United States and other first-world countries. Cellular telephone technology is one generation ahead of the United States. However, like the economy, a technology divide exists, where some parts of the population have access to technology, while others do not. This article will examine the trends in technology, outlining the use of technology in South African industry. The digital divide will also be discussed, looking at the problems and how the State in partnership with the private sector can bridge the gap.

scholarly journals Concert and Dance: the foundations of black jazz in South Africa between the twenties and the early forties

Popular Music ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Ballantine
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
First World War ◽  
Black Culture ◽  
World War ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
The Church

The explosive development of a jazz-band tradition in South African cities from the 1920s – closely allied to the equally rapid maturation of a vaudeville tradition which has been in existence at least since the First World War – is one of the most astonishing features of urban-black culture in that country in the first half of the century. Surrounded by myriad other musics – styles forged by migrant workers; traditional styles transplanted from the countryside to the mines; petty bourgeois choral song; music of the church and of western-classical provenance – jazz and vaudeville quickly established themselves as the music which represented and articulated the hopes and aspirations of the most deeply urbanised sectors of the African working class.

scholarly journals NOTES ON SPATIAL-STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA -THE 1990s

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermanus S. GEYER
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Urban South ◽  
World Class ◽  
Urban Business ◽  
South African Cities

Informal businesses used to be something that was only tolerated in the former black townships during the years of apartheid. Since then the informal business sector has become an integral part of the central business setup of cities in South Africa. It not only serves to widen the security net of the urban poor in cities, it also represents the outcome of the democratization process in the country over the past fifteen years. Yet, there has been a tendency amongst local authorities to take steps to reduce the footprint of this sector in the urban environment in recent years. This trend ties in with the new approach of government to transform South African cities to become ’world class’ centres - a step that is aimed at making the cities more visually acceptable to visitors from abroad. In this paper an attempt is made to demonstrate the importance of the informal sector within the urban business makeup and to show what role it played in the spatial-structural evolution of the urban economies during the 1990s. The paper analyzes the structure of the urban business sector as a whole and structurally links the formal and informal sectors, demonstrating the importance of both sectors in the economic makeup of the cities. It analyses the structure of the informal sector and shows how different layers of the sector potentially relates to the formal urban sector.

scholarly journals Socially Embedded Character of Informal Channels of Remittances: ‘Omalayisha’ in the South Africa/Zimbabwe Remittance Corridor

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vusilizwe Thebe ◽  
Sara Mutyatyu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
The South ◽  
Strategic Networks ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Urban Livelihoods ◽  
Historical Movement ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
Peasant Economy

In this article, we cast some doubts on contemporary initiatives to formalise remittance channels by focusing on particular dynamics of the informal ‘malayisha’ system on the South Africa/Zimbabwe remittance corridor. We stress the socially embedded character of ‘omalayisha’ in some rural societies by demonstrating that the system is built on strong social and community relations of friendship, neighbourhood, kinship and referrals, and the development of strategic networks of state officials. We also seek to draw parallels between the historical movement of remittances from the cities to rural societies and the contemporary system of ‘omalayisha’. Our argument suggest that ‘omalayisha’ are inherently part of the contemporary worker-peasant economy after the relocation and expansion of urban livelihoods to South African cities, and that their position in these societies extends beyond mere labour reproduction to accumulation and survival questions.

scholarly journals A Community of Practice Approach to Planning Water Sensitive Cities in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Kirsty Carden ◽  
Jessica Fell
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
South African ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Skills Shortages ◽  
South African Cities

As South African cities urbanise alongside climate change, resource constraints, and socio-economic challenges, water sensitive (urban) design (WSD) is slowly gaining traction as a framework to address water security goals and entrench resilience. This article reflects on the progression of WSD in South Africa and discusses the broadening of its initial association with stormwater and physical infrastructure to include critical governance and institutional arrangements and social engagements at the core of a water sensitive transition. The approach is  being adapted for the socio-economic challenges particular to  South Africa, including basic urban water and sanitation service provision, WSD related skills shortages, a lack of spatial planning support for WSD, and the need for enabling policy. Since 2014, a national WSD Community of Practice (CoP) has been a key driver in entrenching and advancing this approach and ensuring that the necessary stakeholders are involved and sufficiently skilled. The WSD CoP is aimed at promoting an integrative approach to planning water sensitive cities, bridging the gaps between theory and practice and blending the social and physical sciences and silo divisions within local municipalities. Three South African examples are presented to illustrate the role of a CoP approach with social learning aspects that support WSD : (1) the “Pathways to water resilient South African cities” interdisciplinary project which shows the institutional (policy) foundation for the integration of WSD into city water planning and management processes; (2) the Sustainable Drainage Systems  training programme in the province of Gauteng which demonstrates a skills audit and training initiative as part of an intergovernmental skills development programme with academic partners; and (3) a working group that is being established between the Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering which illustrates the challenges and efforts of key professions working together to build WSD capacity.

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.

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