Participatory research: Opportunities and challenges for research with women in South Africa

Penzhorn, Cecilia

doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2005.04.018

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…A few more women, for example Grace Mugabe, acquired vast swathes of fertile land through political connections and force because of their privileged positions. (Penzhorn 2005). As in Zimbabwe, women in South Africa are invisible within the land redistribution programme.…”

Section: Contextualisation Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives: Qwaqwa Women’s Experiences of the Apartheid and Post-Apartheid Eras

Mushonga¹,

Seloma²

2018

JCH

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Spivak's (1988; 1995) famous question, "Can the Subaltern speak" holds important connotations about many people living on the margins of society. It has greater significance for the sexed subaltern subjects who cannot speak and who cannot be heard because they are doublyoppressed. In many post-liberation regimes on the African continent this is a troubling question. It is a troubling question because the end of colonialism and apartheid did not necessarily translate into major gains for most of society, and women in particular, who, like men, actively participated in, or supported the struggle against colonialism and apartheid. This article, based on the voices of rural and urban women from the former "homeland" of Qwaqwa, South Africa, brings to the fore their experiences, as well as perceptions of both the apartheid and post-apartheid eras. It has established that women were much more oppressed under apartheid than they are today. Thus, while the social status of women has changed for the better, gender discrimination and gender-based violence persist, reinforcing the motion that even in post-apartheid South Africa women have no voice. The extent to which social security grants are entrenching the culture of dependency and entitlement as claimed by our interviewees, calls for further academic scrutiny, and so does the perceived increase in the trafficking of women and children in postapartheid South Africa.

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Section: Contextualisation Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives: Qwaqwa Women’s Experiences of the Apartheid and Post-Apartheid Eras

Mushonga¹,

Seloma²

2018

JCH

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“…This strict spatial planning facilitated the process of relocating more people into the homelands (McCusker & Ramudzuli, 2007), with the result that the homelands became economically weak as population densities exceeded the carrying capacity of the land (Pickles & Weiner, 1991;Ross, 1999). In this way, the homelands became cheap labour pools for white businesses, with most men commuting to work for the white-owned commercial farms and mines, while women stayed behind nursing children and cultivating the small plots for subsistence (Penzhorn, 2005;OmerCooper, 1994). …”

Section: Setting the Scenementioning

confidence: 99%

The question of inclusion and representation in rural South Africa: challenging the concept of water user associations as a vehicle for transformation

et al. 2012

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The promotion of local governance and the transfer of water management responsibilities to Water User Associations (WUAs) have been central in water reform processes throughout the world, including in the reforms that took place in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper reflects on the notions of inclusion and representation as put forward by the various actors involved in the establishment of a WUA in a tertiary catchment in the Thukela River Basin.The paper describes how the WUA in the study catchment came to be dominated by commercial farmers, despite the South African government's aim to redress the inequities of the past by the inclusion and representation of historically disadvantaged individuals. The authors argue that the notions of inclusion and representation as embedded in the concept of the WUA are highly contested and more aligned with the institutional settings familiar to the commercial farmers.The paper concludes that, unless the inherently political nature of the participatory process is recognized and the different institutional settings become part of the negotiation process of the 'why' and the 'how' of progressive collaboration at catchment level, the establishment of the WUA in the study catchment will not contribute to achieving the envisioned transformation.

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“…The education system was designed to prepare the Black population for manual labour and, with few local employment opportunities being available in the homelands, most men commuted to work on the commercial farms and in the mines of White South Africa (Bond, 2006). Women often stayed behind and were relegated to reproducing the future labour force and taking care of the sick and elderly (Penzhorn, 2005;Omer-Cooper, 1994). The apartheid politics sparked significant internal resistance.…”

Section: Historical and Institutional Context Of The Catchmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Zulu culture women have limited political status, and resources such as land and livestock are mainly owned by men. Although water resources are mainly used by women for domestic purposes, and growing crops is regarded a female activity, women are not involved in the maintenance and future planning of the water resources and have a low political status (Penzhorn, 2005). Three female smallholder farmers indicated that they would like to be involved in decision making at village level, but, for community meetings, often only men are invited.…”

Section: Category 3 -Participation In Decision Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contested water rights in post-apartheid South Africa: The struggle for water at catchment level

Kemerink

Ahlers

Zaag

2011

WSA

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The National Water Act (1998) of South Africa provides strong tools to redress inequities inherited from the past. However, a decade after the introduction of the Act, access to water is still skewed along racial lines. This paper analyses the various ways in which the Water Act is contested, based on empirical data detailing the interactions between smallholder farmers and commercial farmers in a case-study catchment in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The paper argues that the legacy of the apartheid era still dominates the current political and economical reality and shows how the redistribution of water resources is contested by the elite. The paper identifies several issues that prevent the smallholder farmers from claiming their rights, including the institutional arrangements in former homelands, the 'community approach' of Government and NGOs, the disconnect between land and water reform processes, and historically-entrenched forms of behaviour of the various actors. The paper concludes that the difficulties encountered in the water reform process are illustrative for what is happening in the society at large and raises the question as to what price is being paid to maintain the current status quo in the division of wealth?

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Participatory research: Opportunities and challenges for research with women in South Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives: Qwaqwa Women’s Experiences of the Apartheid and Post-Apartheid Eras

Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives: Qwaqwa Women’s Experiences of the Apartheid and Post-Apartheid Eras

The question of inclusion and representation in rural South Africa: challenging the concept of water user associations as a vehicle for transformation

Contested water rights in post-apartheid South Africa: The struggle for water at catchment level

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