This essay will link African women?s writing to culture, including literary culture and the politics of literature. It describes how African women?s literature can act as a mirror, reflecting African cultures to Africans, and how it can serve as a window and a door, revealing African cultures to those outside of them in whole or in part. It ends with a description of ?communal agency,? an example of how scholarly writing can act as a door for both those who are and are not a part of a literature?s culture.
During the last decades, changing intra-state and inter-state immigrant profiles in Spain has generated an interesting landscape for sociolinguistics research. There has been a shift from temporary migration to permanent settlement, which means that there is an increasing number of individuals who need to speak the locally legitimate forms of language for different reasons. Apart from this, recent statistics indicate that female immigrants' profiles are also changing, and they are becoming more and more forerunners and active participants in the formal Spanish labour market (Aja et al. 2011). Therefore, this dynamic, ever changing profile of female immigrants suggests that they move across existing boundaries, acquiring and developing their linguistic knowledge to access other forms of symbolic capitals in Spain. Building on my ethnography of two sites in Madrid and Barcelona between 2011 and 2014, I shall explain how African immigrant women become new speakers and how their language learning process intersects with socially constructed boundaries such as political, economic, and linguistic hierarchies and ascribed gender roles.
South Africa has unfortunately inherited a work environment based on an economic system characterised by deprivation, political instability, adversarial labour relations, cheap migrant labour, and massive income and wealth disparities. The world of work is also characterised by an appalling systematic discrimination against Blacks, women, and people with disabilities. Affirmative action has been the only policy instrument used by the Democratic South Africa to redress the past imbalances. In line with the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, the beneficiaries of this action are mainly African women (Blacks, Coloured, and Indians including disabled people). This has been justified by the fact that they were subjected to innumerable forms of discrimination and bias in the past. The policies of Affirmative Action are a system of political tools used to level the playing field. They focus on policies and strategies needed to redress past racial imbalances in the workplace, education, gender equality, and the like. This paper examines the strategy of Affirmative Action in South Africa harnessed to redress past wrongs and its effectiveness in so doing.
Published Article ; This article reviews the perspectives on the rights, roles and endeavours of women in the South African work environment. In an attempt to achieve this objective, the article commences with a holistic approach on the evolution of women's rights and roles. The remainder gives perspectives on the South African labour force and finally outlines the importance of South African legislation on the advancement of women. The situation of African women is, in particular referred to, as it was evident during 1995 and earlier that African females were considerably under-represented in various sectors of the workforce. African women were, for example, introduced into the management environment as recently as the 1980s, while supportive legislation only came into place in the 1990s.
The politics of culture, motherhood and mothering in some African communities highlight the tensions that exist in the broader feminist theology agenda. There are emerging politics between the able and disabled feminist theologians where the binary of ability or disability is ambiguously theologised. Written from a feminist theology of disability, this qualitative study sought to understand and describe the struggles women with visual impairment face to be accepted as being fit for motherhood. Emerging qualitative themes are used to develop towards an African women theology of disability that responds to the plight of women with disabilities. The findings indicate that women with disabilities are constantly challenging and protesting ableism perceptions of motherhood by falling pregnant, giving birth and nurturing their children. They argue that the binary perceptions of ability and disability are informed by patriarchal ideologies and able-bodied women's fears of being associated with the vulnerability of disability. ; http://www.indieskriflig.org.za ; am2019 ; Practical Theology
This article reflects on how the use of digitised communication and social media among young black South African women can be situated and assessed within the current context. The authors focus especially on nuanced explorations of "civic participation," "empowerment" and "identity politics" in acknowledging the liberatory potential of young women's use of information and communication technology (ICTs) and seeking to assess its effects in realistic ways. We therefore speculate about how the uses of ICTs can both open up new possibilities for activism and agency and reveal the difficult formation of what Nancy Fraser has called "subaltern counterpublics" (1992: 109–142) among socially marginalised young women. ; Department of HE and Training approved list
For so long, black South African women have suffered from cultural and legalised discrimination. This gradually marginalised them from mainstream economic activities. Since the demise of Apartheid in 1994, the new government introduced corrective measures to improve the status of women in the labour market. For example, new legal provisions were enacted while international laws were also embraced. This demonstrated the government's commitment to achieve equality between men and women in the labour market and society at large. Given that more than ten years have passed since the inception of such enabling policies, it is reasonable to assume that remarkable strides were made in improving the status of African women in the job market. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate whether the position of African women in the labour market has improved or not over the period 1995-2004. This audit is important for poverty eradication initiatives. Enhancing the status of women in the labour market is one vehicle through which poverty can be eradicated in the economy. The research focuses on three central areas. Firstly, the study explores the determinants of African women's labour force participation in 1995, 1999 and 2004. It uses logit models and the Even and Macpherson (1990 1993) decomposition. On the basis of this methodology, the study finds that for each of the three cross sections, education was the major correlate followed by non-labour income, marital status, geographical location and fertility. Furthermore, the increase in female labour force participation between 1995 and 2004 was mainly due to differences in coefficients/behavioural response than to a change in characteristics. The latter was especially due to behavioural response to education and age. However, these changes did not go far enough to make an improvement on the status of African women in the labour market. Specifically, the increase in female labour force participation was weighed down by some labour market inequalities associated with the trend like gender pay gaps. Secondly, gender wage differentials are scrutinized across the entire wage distribution in 1995, 1999 and 2004. The analysis utilises quantile regression estimation and counterfactual decomposition methods. This framework provides different estimates of the 'discrimination' coefficient across the wage distribution. In particular, it reveals that the gender gaps are wider at the bottom than at the top of the wage distributions. To add on, the research finds that the unexplained components of the gender pay gaps 'discrimination' did not substantially decline across the wage distributions between 1995 and 2004. Instead, the unexplained gaps slightly declined in the lower quantiles while increasing at the top end of the distributions. This probably indicates the persistence of substantial discrimination in the South African labour market, and that the incidence is more severe at the bottom than at the top of the wage distributions. However, rather than being a causal factor, this discrimination could be a symptom of the underlying problems. One of the possible causes is the low membership and hence representation of women in v decision making bodies such as trade unions. This invited a consideration of the gender differences in union membership. Finally, the research seeks to establish the nature and extent of the gender differences in trade union membership. It hypothesises that the gaps are either due to family loyalty, differences in union related characteristics or to discrimination. The analysis makes recourse to the Even and Macpherson (1990 1993) decomposition. The study finds that the gender gaps for 1995 and 2004 were mostly due to the unexplained components of the gender gaps/behavioural response, especially, differences in responses to family attachment related variables: marriage, occupations and industries. These outcomes sometimes show that most women spend most of their time carrying out domestic chores when compared to men. This suggests the persistence of patriarchal attitudes in society. Overall, our findings suggest that the changes in the status of African women in the post-Apartheid labour market were mainly due to responses to the constitution induced transformation rather than to a change in labour market characteristics. Nonetheless, this raises a question as to why, on the one hand, there were considerable shifts in labour force participation and on the other, there were negligible changes in unionism and pay gaps, yet all are explained by differences in coefficients. Therefore, we have suggested that the paradox resulted from massive changes in women's expectations about their involvement in paid work which are in concurrence with slowly changing social expectations about the role and place of women in the home and in the greater society. Clearly, women suffer from the work-family conflicts which compromise their advancement in the labour market. Also, it seems employers have not yet changed their discriminatory perceptions about women despite the presence of anti-discrimination legislation. The negative effect of this is to some extent an artefact of the persistence of patriarchal attitudes which continue to give women less voice in the labour market and in the society at large. Thus, we conclude that African women's de facto situation at the bottom of the hierarchy in the South African labour market is not mitigated by their de jure equality status. From these findings we speculate that the retention of patriarchy underlies the virtual restriction of an improvement in African women's labour market status. Therefore, we suggest that there is an urgent need for reforming gender roles at the societal level so that they exist on a more equal foundation and provide the basis for free and fair development of African women in the labour market.
This article considers the political impact of recent migration of women from West Africa to France in the context of draconian controls (the Pasqua Laws). It outlines the main characteristics of both the migration and the legislation, and analyses the principal features of the eighteen month dispute for the legalization of undocumented workers which has become known as the "lutte des sanspapiers." ; Le présent article analyse l'impact politique de la migration récente des femmes d'Afrique de l'Ouest vers la France, dans le contexte de contrôle draconien actuel (lois Pasqua). On y décrit les principales caractéristiques de la migration et de la législation et on y analyse les principaux aspects des dix-huit mois de lutte pour la régulation des travailleurs sans pièce d'identité, connus désormais sous le nom de "lutte des sanspapiers".
In the history of opposition to white supremacist rule in South Africa, the 1950's stand out as a period of intensive legal resistance by black political bodies on an unprecedented mass scale. Undoubtedly, for all its weaknesses and difficulties, the Congress Alliance, with the African National Congress its senior partner, was the major source of opposition faced by the apartheid state in this period. More than is generally realised, however, the 1950's were also a decade of mass political action by black women in South Africa, that section of the population which a 1956 pamphlet aptly described as "the most oppressed, suffering and downtrodden of our people". At the centre of this outburst lay the Federation of South African Women (FSAW), an organisation that was linked to the Congress Alliance. It is the history of this organisation that forms the subject matter of this thesis. Little historical work has been done on women in South Africa, politically or otherwise: for this reason, the scope of this study is broad and, in addition to material on the history and make-up of the FSAW itself, several chapters have been devoted to background developments to the establishment of the FSAW in 1954.
African women youth climate activists are marginalised in mainstream climate activism. There is very little scholarly work done on this group, specifically on how their agency is deployed in the context of extreme undermining. Based on a case study of the activism of Vanessa Nakate, this paper analyses online interviews, media reports and social media interactions. The text was analysed thematically. The paper identifies three social binds (location, gender, and youth) that limit her activism. Importantly, the findings show how she deploys context-dependent agency to overcome those binds. The paper offers practical and theoretical insights for the study of African women climate activism. I argue that understanding and developing personal and political agency is essential for the sustainability of African women youth climate activism.
There has been growing concerns about the fact that African media has failed to commit itself to ensuring that the gender question becomes a standard of measure for press freedom and access to information on the continent. The use of the female body as a mere decoration or as an attention-getting device diminishes women's self-esteem and ignores other aspects of women's personality, their human potential and contributions to economic empowerment for development. Women are underrepresented in political, social and economic reporting; this results in limiting the freedom of expression caused by self-censorship by a male dominated industry. It is a cause of concern on the portrayal of women in household-related roles, mostly in advertisements for household products, particularly because of the repetitiousness of the housewife image. The media does not fully recognize the dynamism that women display in the economic, cultural and social lives of their communities through their associations and informal networks channeled into creating new models of participation and leadership. This paper therefore explores the need for positive women access and use of the media for economic empowerment in Africa; it examines the challenges facing the portrayal of women in the media and makes recommendations on how increase women's representation in decision-making structures in media houses and develop structures and frameworks for gender mainstreaming based on laws and policies for sustained economic empowerment of women. This paper explores secondary data from text books, and journals to conclude that, without meaningful commitment in the form of policy changes and the provision of resources to address women conditions and involvement in the media representation; Africa cannot hope to see a breakthrough in its development and renewal. It recommends that, greater awareness and supportive environment needs to be enhanced by the media for women to be more self-reflective and have a greater awareness of their own weaknesses, ...
This essay will link African women's writing to culture, including literary culture and the politics of literature. It describes how African women's literature can act as a mirror, reflecting African cultures to Africans, and how it can serve as a window and a door, revealing African cultures to those outside of them in whole or in part. It ends with a description of "communal agency," an example of how scholarly writing can act as a door for both those who are and are not a part of a literature's culture. ; Este ensayo vincula las obras de autoras africanas con la cultura, tomando en cuenta la cultura literaria y las políticas de la literatura. Describe cómo la literatura de mujeres africanas puede actuar como espejo que refleja a los africanos la diversidad de su cultura, y cómo puede servir de ventana y puerta: qué desvelan las culturas africanas, parcial o totalmente, ante los que viven fuera de estas. Termina con una descripción de "agencia comunitaria", un ejemplo de cómo los textos académicos pueden funcionar como puerta tanto para los que forman parte de la cultura literaria como para los que no son parte de ella.
Informal and formal can be seen as «dual economies» of African countries. Governments oTen concern themselves with the formal, while development agencies oTen support the informal. This paper discusses the full landscape of entrepreneurship, considering both sectors, and the range from small to large within each. It queries whether or not there can be movement within and between sectors, and if the «rages to riches» upward movement, as seen in developed countries, is possible in developing ones. The range of women in traditional micro enterprises to the emerging new generation of African women owners of large ‑scale companies are discussed in particular, but the research applies to both men and women. A paradigm of the entrepreneurial landscape will be presented with variables that consider demographics; types of typical enterprises and firms; product sourcing and markets; start ‑up capital; and movement within and between the sectors. Some conclusions are that the informal ‑formal distinction has been useful to disentangle the landscape, but movement between may not be substantial other than minor taxation for sites and services because of the entry requirements of capital, education, business networks, etc. Similarly, within the formal sector of small to medium to large businesses, there is some movement but they too are limited by access to capital, networks, market intelligence and niches, and product innovation. Nevertheless, there is a growing cadre of women at the top who both confound researchers/donors and provide role models for success within their societies. ; O informal e o formal podem ser vistos como «economias duais» dos países africanos. Os governos normalmente ocupam ‑se do formal enquanto as agências de desenvolvimento apoiam frequentemente o informal. Neste texto discute ‑se o panorama abrangente do empreendorismo, tendo em consideração ambos os sectores e as dimensões – de maiores a menores – das actividades que estes comportam. Questiona ‑se a possibilidade de existir mobilidade dentro e entre os sectores e se a mobilidade ascendente – «de muito pobre a rico» – que se verifica nos países desenvolvidos é possível nos países em desenvolvimento. Discute ‑se em particular um conjunto abrangente, desde as mulheres em micro ‑empresas tradicionais às novas gerações de mulheres africanas proprietárias de grandes empresas, embora a pesquisa se aplique quer a homens quer a mulheres. Apresenta ‑se um paradigma do panorama empresarial, com variáveis que têm em conta a demografia, os tipos de empresas e estabelecimentos típicos, o acesso aos produtos e aos mercados, o capital inicial e a mobilidade dentro e entre sectores. Algumas das conclusões são que a distinção informal ‑formal tem sido útil para compreender o panorama mas que o movimento entre um e outro sector pode não ser substancialmente positivo, excepto em termos de redução das taxas sobre estabelecimentos e serviços devido às exigências no que diz respeito ao capital, à educação, redes de negócio, etc. Da mesma forma, no sector formal e desde as pequenas às médias e grandes empresas, existe alguma mobilidade que, contudo, é igualmente limitada devido ao acesso ao capital, às redes, ao conhecimento do mercado e dos seus nichos, às inovações. Apesar disso, existe um conjunto crescente de mulheres no topo, o que intriga os investigadores e os doadores ao mesmo tempo que servem de modelos de sucesso nas suas sociedades.
