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Item A Contractarian Conception Of The Basic Income Grant: General And South African Considerations(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Mc Lean, Jordan; Glaser, DarylThis academic report proposes an additional moral argument for implementing a basic income grant (BIG) within the framework of the social contract in South Africa. The analysis aims to establish whether there are implicit obligations on the part of the state to provide all citizens with access to social assistance. The report ascertains what moral obligations the state has towards its citizens by exploring social contract theory. The report also analyses the South African case more closely, arguing that state obligation to provide social assistance to all citizens can be found in the Constitution and in the objectives of the social. The research report offers reflections regarding how the South African state attempts to satisfy these obligations through a discussion on some of the government’s social and economic policies. The reflections argue that while the state recognises this moral obligation, it follows the structurally unviable policy position that wage employment can satisfy the social contract for the working aged population. The report investigates the nexus between the social contract and basic income, arguing that the social contract makes the provision of social assistance a moral requirement of the state and thus a basic income grant is necessary, especially in the South Africa case where a large number of working age people have no social assistance access and face high rates of structural unemployment. The report undertakes document analysis of relevant literature, government policy proposals and development programmes to achieve this objective. Ultimately, this report contributes to the understanding of the post-Apartheid social contract, the politics of the welfare system, and the discourse surrounding basic income grants.Item A Podcast Original: Feeling out Black Contemporary Masculinity in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Mkhwanazi, Vuyiswa Samukelisiwe Nomvula; Kiguwa, PeaceThis research report provides detailed account of the ways in which “Podcast and Chill with MacG” possibly surfaces affective identifications and attachments in its representations of black masculinity. The theoretical explorations are performed with the Millennial and Gen-Z aged masculine audience in mind as they would be the main consumers of this podcast. This study uses affect theory as its theoretical framework - particularly as it is offered by Sara Ahmed in conversation with Tomkins’ work. The study has taken on a qualitative approach. Data collection occurred through purposive sampling of three sixty minute [or longer] episodes of the podcast. The specific episodes feature the following people as interviewees or guests: media personality Jub Jub, comedian and actor Mpho “Popps” Modikane as well as radio personality and reality television star, Dineo Ranaka. The data is analysed and interpreted by means of critical discourse analysis which is focused on studying and analysing spoken and written texts for the purpose of revealing discursive sources of bias, inequality, dominance and power. This paper utilises a culturally responsive relational reflexive ethical framework. The key findings of this paper are that the podcast guest embody one of the following Jungian archetypes: fallen hero [Jub Jub], jester [Mpho Popps] and rebel [Dineo Ranaka]. Furthermore, the fallen hero and jester embody affects of elevation and pride, as well as anxiety respectively. The rebel subverts expectation by rejecting to embody shame and instead uses that rejection as a feminist rallying cry that works to summon a caring masculinity.Item Adaptation strategies against drought: The case of rain-fed subsistence crop farmers in Mphego village in the Vhembe District of Limpopo province, South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Ntuli, Nokutenda Chantelle; Mukwedeya, TatendaSouth Africa’s Limpopo province is recognized as one of the drought prone regions of the country. Incessant droughts in Limpopo are compromising agricultural productivity in both the large-scale commercial and smallholder farming sectors. Regardless, smallholder farmers, especially those located in historically marginalized settings (former homeland areas) that experience socio-economic deprivation at the hands of the state, and practice rain-fed subsistence agriculture bear the disproportionate burden of drought. These farmers lack adequate finances, agri-mechanization as well as state support to sufficiently cushion them against drought. Such is the plight of rain-fed subsistence in Mphego village, a former homeland area of the Venda Bantustan now known as Vhembe district. This study contributes to understanding how drought is impacting the practices of rain-fed subsistence crop farmers in the rural community of Mphego. Attention is placed on investigating the ways in which drought intersects with existing politically engineered social and economic constraints experienced by subsistence farmers in Mphego village to exacerbate systemic vulnerabilities. Moreover, it explores the adaptation strategies that are being employed by these subsistence farmers to cope with drought impacts. Qualitative interviews were used to investigate these dynamics, and the data was analysed using the thematic approach. The results obtained from Mphego revealed that drought vulnerabilities experienced by subsistence farmers should be understood in light of other converging state orchestrated socio-economic structures of deprivation in local rural communities that shape outcomes in the smallholder agricultural sector. The state is contributing to the expansion of agri-capitalist practices and its drought relief support is biased towards large-scale commercial farmers at the expense of subsistence livelihoods. Given these circumstances, subsistence farmers in Mphego have been employing their own agency to adapt to drought conditions. The livelihood capitals possessed by the farmers were found to play a significant role in influencing and shaping their choice of adaptation practices.Item Blindsided, othered, losing, coping: Experiences of syndemics among Nigerian-born migrant women in Johannesburg, South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Oyenubi, Adetola; de Gruchy, Thea; Vearey, JoBackground and rationale - Migrants in South Africa frequently face complex challenges that negatively affect their mental and physical health. Current literature has mostly focused on identifying these health conditions with little attention paid to the socioeconomic factors that exacerbate the overall well-being of these migrants. To fill this gap, this study explores the health experiences of migrant women in Johannesburg through the lenses of social determinants of health, othering, and coping strategies. Method - The syndemic framework serves as the foundation for this qualitative study, which examines migrant women's lived experiences and how they interpret their health in the context of the stressors they experience in the city. Data from twenty-one Nigerian-born migrant women were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings - Participants' lived experiences represent syndemic suffering, which Mendenhall describes as experiences of poor health that are due to non-biological factors. These complexities include being blindsided by high expectations of a better life in Johannesburg versus sentiments of disappointment with reality, as well as the pressures of being othered in a new society. All of this has resulted in participants losing their health owing to an array of mental health issues and chronic diseases they suffer from. In the midst of their hardships, these women have discovered ways to cope through social support, religion, mobile technology, and self-care. Conclusion - This study contributes to the literature and praxis on social determinants of migrant health, othering, and the syndemic frameworks by providing insight through the findings of this study. By identifying and exploring syndemics among migrant communities in urban Johannesburg, we can explore how syndemic suffering for migrant women shares commonalities with, but also diverges from, that experienced by South African women.Item Controlled Existence in Zimbabwe and Beyond: Exploring Survivability in Shadows (2012) by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The Border Jumper (2019) by Christopher Mlalazi(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-02) Makoni, Brightman; Nyanda, JosiahThis study considers existence and survivability as the particulars of transnational migration. Through critical engagement with Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s Shadows (2012) and Christopher Mlalazi’s The Border Jumper (2019), the research explores migrant lives in the context of transborder migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa. The chosen literary texts are analysed through the prism of typified migrant characters’ lives in Zimbabwe, South Africa and on the margins of both and on the borderlines, between societies and countries. Insights are drawn from the theory of intersectionality entwined with concepts of oppression, identity and habitus. The unified theoretical framework is applied on migrant characters’ trend of existing and surviving and how the trends expose power dynamics that play out in one’s mother country and beyond borders as a consequence of identity fluidity, place, space and time.Item Decolonising Healthcare: Breathwork as a Traditional and Complementary Medicine(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Jardine-Lindberg, Zuraida; Steyn, Melissa; McEwen, HaleyThis study investigates the potential for Breathwork as a traditional and complementary medicine to promote decolonisation in healthcare. The study utilised qualitative interviews with healthcare practitioners who integrate Breathwork into their practice, in order to explore their viewpoints on the potential therapeutic benefits of this modality. Colonisation has played a significant role in historically discriminating against indigenous knowledge systems when it comes to healthcare, leading to an epistemic ignorance around various healing modalities. To address this issue, a shift towards pluralistic healthcare systems that integrate traditional and complementary medicines is needed. This can provide patients with a wider range of medical options and a more holistic approach to healing, empowering the individual to take control of their own health. However, change needs to start at policy level, with a commitment to inclusivity and cultural sensitivity within healthcare systems. Academic institutions also have a critical role to play in transforming their healthcare curricula to be more inclusive of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines. This involves recognising the extent to which Euro-western teachings still dominate healthcare education today and working towards greater diversity in curricular content. The observations made in this study suggest that socially constructed definitions of health require transformation, particularly in countries as diverse as South Africa. In conclusion, this study aimed to highlight the possible impact Breathwork as a traditional and complementary medicine may offer the healthcare sector. By acknowledging the historical discrimination against indigenous knowledge systems and embracing a more pluralistic approach to healthcare, South Africa can work towards building a more equitable and culturally sensitive healthcare system that not only meets diverse needs but offers empowerment for individuals to become active participants in their wellbeing.Item Digital Diplomacy as A Tool for Peaceful Secession: The Use of Twitter in Somaliland’s Campaign for International Recognition(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Rubidge, Laura; Benjamin, LarryThe last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional diplomatic practice as a result of technological breakthroughs. New advantages and challenges have emerged beyond the auspice of traditional diplomacy. Although there is a plethora of research emerging on digital diplomacy theory and practice, gaining momentum since the Covid-19 pandemic, it remains an under researched area of inquiry. This research report is interested in the use of Twitter by the Somaliland government, as a de facto state, as a foreign policy tool. This report employs Damien Spry and Kerrilee Lockyer’s (2022) triangulation methodology to conduct an applied evaluation of Somaliland’s use of Twitter in its foreign policy. As such, the report firstly examines Somaliland’s foreign policy strategy using document analysis, secondly, analyses overarching trends considering metadata and lastly, zooms in to the microdata to analyse small, outlier cases. The overall aim of this research report is to evaluate Somaliland’s use of Twitter in its foreign policy activities, extracting unique advantages of digital diplomacy over traditional diplomacy in addition to contributing to the emerging literature on digital diplomacy.Item Eliminating Potentiality from Pure Powers(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Oswald, Matthew Egon Marshall; Coates, AshleyI work to eliminate potentiality from the essences of pure powers, dispositions, by developing and defending a Megarian Actualist framework. I argue that the manifestations of fundamental natural powers are totally actual fields and that this enables me to avoid the Meinongian problem which affects traditional dispositionalist accounts. I adopt and defend Molnar’s view of manifestations and contributions and later I defend against criticisms against Megarian Actualism by Aristotle, Molnar and Bird. Finally, I conclude by demonstrating that Megarian Actualism can still preserve modality at large, despite endorsing a strict necessity relation between manifestation and disposition.Item Experiences of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and their wellbeing: A study of CHWs in Johannesburg Townships(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Mashinini, Lethiwe Yvonne; Carrasco, Lorena NunezCommunity Health Workers (CHWs) have become important role players in the provision of health and social services in many underprivileged communities around South Africa. Despite the role and impact of these cadres in many communities, few studies have focused on the impact of their work on their wellbeing. Hence, the study's interest in expanding its inquiry on the experiences of CHWs and their impact on the cadre's wellbeing. This research further inquired about the national CHWs policy and CHWs scope of practice facilitated through the WBPHCOTs strategy that resulted from the re-engineering of the PHC model. As an observer qualitative data was collected through non-participative observation. Drawing from in-depth interviews this study further examined and describes the self-reported experiences of CHWs and NGO managers. To frame the experiences of CHWs and the impact of these experiences on their wellbeing the research findings were theorized from the perspective of social constructionism. The fundamental concern was to understand how cadres define, describe, and think about different social aspects of their life as CHWs and how these experiences influence their reality. Specifically focusing on two NGOs situated in Johannesburg townships the study participants were composed of eight CHWs (six female and two male cadres) as well as two male managers who were consulted as key informants. Concerning the national CHWs policy and the guiding scope of practice in the functioning of CHWs, the research yielded interesting findings. The managers of the NGOs were unaware of the existence of the national policy framework dubbed the Ward-based primary healthcare outreach team’s strategy (WBPHCOTs) policy framework. Hence, the organizations had not adopted or aligned the work of CHWs with the WBPHCOTs strategy policy framework. Instead, the NGOs maintained their arrangement of CHWs programmes as multi-stakeholder projects. This raises concerns about the implementation of the WBPHCOTs policy framework as a national CHWs policy, particularly in the NGO sector. The research also revealed multifaceted findings about CHW's experiences, which were largely positive and influenced by altruistic sentiments. Cadres also felt a sense of self-development and the possibility of improvement in their lives, which had a positive impact on their social wellbeing. CHWs also encountered some negative experiences such as challenging working conditions and poor remuneration and this had adverse impacts on their physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing. Therefore experiences of CHWs impacted their wellbeing both positively and negatively.Item Experiences of Youth in Agrarian Transformation in Rural South Africa: A Case of Greenplanet Primary Cooperative in Orange Farm(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-03) Chibonore, Wilma Claris; Kariuki, SamuelThis thesis advanced a qualitative approach to analyse the practices, structures and rationalities that inform youth engagement in agriculture drawing on evidence from Orange Farm in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The study takes off on the premise that there is low generational renewal in agriculture as the older and ageing generation makes the majority of active farmers yet farming holds great potential for creating youth employment whilst youth engagement in agriculture secures food of the future. The study finds that youth (dis)engagement and (dis)interest in farming is directly related to the availability and easy access to everyday support structures particularly those provided by the state and observes that many young people are in fact interested in farming but are currently operating in a structurally disabling environment amidst poor state support which does not allow for growth or access to key resources. The study finds that youth interest in farming exists although these interests are largely skewed towards technologically advanced farming systems and against backward manual farming systems therefore contradicting existing discourse as well as challenging the general narrative and consensus that youths are not interested in farming or that youth interest in farming is waning. The thesis reveals that young farmers understanding, interpretation and engagement with agricultural technology is based on their levels of exposure, location and access to resources. Poverty, structural limitations and marginalization experienced by the youth contribute significantly to their reception and perception of agriculture as a whole. The thesis argues for an agrarian developmental state approach towards the strengthening of agricultural opportunities and the relevant institutional structures and resources such as land, stipends, extension services, training, technology and market allocation to support youth farming in rural South Africa where the economies are generally stagnant and youth unemployment very high. This study observes that young people as active citizens and through utilising individual agency have the capacity to drive their own innovations within the agricultural sector when awarded the platform, opportunity and support to do so. The study reveals that the young farmers are ‘millennials’ who use their youth agency to engage in social networking facilitated by use of social media as a powerful tool for unity and resistance against unfavourable farming environments. Lastly, two contradictory perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 emerge in this study, one of COVID-19 having presented opportunities for growth and success for the young farmers and another of the pandemic having further marginalized and disrupted the already struggling young farmers with both narratives being shaped directly and indirectly by the pre-existing structural challenges. Methodologically, empirical data was mostly gathered through face to face semi-structured interviews, focus groups and conversations with the young farmers with the remainder of interviews having been conducted virtually via Skype, WhatsApp chats and WhatsApp calls upon the emergence of COVID-19 which converged with this study. Participant observation occurred through attending farmers meetings, agriculture tours, engaging in some farming activities on some sites as well as being part of the young farmers WhatsApp group. The thesis also relied on published journals, statistical reports, media reports, policy documents as well as videos from the public hearings regarding the amendment of the South African Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation in order to bolster the empirical findings.Item Exploration of the Impact of Police Brutality during demonstrations on Public Trust: A case study of the Malawi Police Service in Malawi, 2010-2020(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-12) Chavula, Faith; Pakade, Nomancotsho; Duca, FedericaPolice brutality during demonstrations has been a concern all around the world. Over the last decade, Malawi has recorded tens of violent demonstrations which have been associated with police brutality which has negatively affected an already declining public trust in the Malawi Police Service (MPS). This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate how police brutality during demonstrations has negatively affected public trust in the MPS. This study used semi-structured interviews and document analysis to collect data. This research study sampled twenty (20) respondents namely, citizens who had participated in demonstrations in the past decade, MPS officers, and members of Community Social Organisations (CSO’s) who had been organising different demonstrations in Malawi over the past decade. The major findings of this study are that there has been a political influence in the MPS which has led to the adoption of partisanship in the MPS. This has influenced police brutality especially during anti-government demonstrations. The study also found that the MPS have adopted a militarisation approach also known as an “us vs them” posture, where the police see the public as enemies and respond with excessive force during demonstrations. Due to this militarisation approach and police partisanship, there has been an impaired relationship between the citizens and the police which has resulted in a shift of public trust from the MPS to CSOs. Strategies and recommendations have also been explored to begin to address public trust in the MPS.Item Factors associated with Social Grant uptake In South Africa: A Closer Look at the Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant among the Youth Aged 18 – 35 Years(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Mabala, Moyahabo Thomas; De Wet-Billings, Nicole; Godongwana, MotlatsoBackground: Globally nearly 900 million people benefited from social assistance in 2017, most of them in the form of cash transfers, which accounts for 44% of the social assistance budget. During the same period, Sub-Saharan Africa was found to be far behind in terms of social assistance coverage, of those living in extreme poverty it is estimated that only 15% of them are receiving social assistance. In South Africa, with a population of 60 million people, it is estimated that 11.4 million of them received some sort of grant at the end of March 2021. When the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SCSRDG) was introduced, it received over 9.5 million applications of which only 6.5 million were approved with the youth aged 18 – 34 accounting for 70% of the applicants. As a result of the high number of applicants for the SCSRDG, this study wanted to gain an understanding of the profiles of the applicants. Objective: To explore the demographic, socio-economic, and household factors associated with the uptake of the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SCSRDG) among the youth aged 18 – 35 years in South Africa. Methodology: This study is a quantitative analysis of secondary data obtained from the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey 2020 wave 5. The survey interviewed 7074 youth aged between 18 – 35 years. The outcome variable of this study is the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SCSRDG) receipt status. To assess the uptake of the grant, descriptive statistics including tables and graphs were used. The predictor variables consist of demographic, socioeconomic and household characteristics, with age as the main predictor variable. To check for the association between the outcome and predictor variables, binary logistic regression was utilised. Where the odd ratio < 1.00, meant that the outcome was less likely in the index group when compared to the reference. Results: Using the weighted data, a total of 3 438 046 applicants who applied for the grants received it while 3 003 320 of them did not receive the grant. Among those who received the grant, the majority 1 223 192 of them are aged between 21- 25 years. Most of the applicants were male representing 63.58%. African/Black is the highest population group that applied for the grant accounting for 90.66% of the applicants while whites account for the least proportion of the applicants at 0.88%. For both that received and did not receive the grant, the African/black population group is the highest when compared to other population groups at 92.93% and 88.07% respectively, while whites are the lowest at 1.31% and 0.40% respectively. Most of the applicants 91.47% were unemployed. A total of 4 994 322 (77.54%) of the applicants reported their dwelling type as formal and 4 891 137 (75.93) reported that they had access to both water and electricity in their household. Most applicants 39.98% come from a household with between 4 – 6 family members. Out of the 14 independent variables included in this study only two variables, marital status, and multiple grants recipients, were statistically significant. Females have a lower likelihood of receiving the grant when compared to males with an odd ratio of 0.6431 and 0.55637 using the unadjusted and adjusted binary regression model, respectively. Conclusion: This study has found that marital status and multiple grants recipients are the two characteristics that are associated with the uptake of the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant among youth aged 18 – 35 years in South Africa. It found that males as compared to females are more likely to receive the SRD grant, this is because of the initial qualifying criteria that excluded a high number of females that were already receiving the Child Support Grant. This criterion was later changed to say that an applicant of the SCSRDG must not be entitled to a social grant for himself or herself.Item Family Change and Child Maintenance Effect on Men’s Mental Health Outcomes in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Muchemwa, Marifa; Odimegwu, CliffordBackground: Mental health problems are increasing among men in South Africa, yet they remain inadequately studied, particularly within the context of observed family change in the country. National studies have identified the changes taking place in the family system such as increasing rates of divorce, cohabiting, non-marital childbearing, living alone, and delays in family formation. This has resulted in most children growing up in single-parent families, giving rise to child maintenance issues. The changing family situations together with complexities surrounding child maintenance may be pertinent to men’s mental health outcomes, hence the need to examine the nexus. This is important considering that men’s mental health has not been examined in the context of family change and child maintenance in the country. A lack of investigation in this area raises the following question: Do family change and child maintenance complexities contribute to men’s mental health outcomes? Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed method was conducted to examine family change and child maintenance effects on men’s mental health outcomes in South Africa. The two mental health outcomes which were examined are depressive symptoms and Psychiatric or psychological disorders. The quantitative part of the research used longitudinal secondary data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Waves 1-5 (2008-2017) with a sample size of 30 381 men aged 18 and older. The family change examined included a man’s transition from another marital status to being married, living with a partner, divorced, and multiple changes. It also encompassed men who transitioned from living with others to living alone. To analyse the data, the multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression and the General Estimating Equations (GEE) models were used. In the qualitative research, 30 men residing in Johannesburg were recruited using purposive and snowballing sampling methods. The men were interviewed using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Key Findings: Quantitative findings indicate that men who changed to cohabiting had an increased likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms compared to those who did not go through a family change. Men who changed to live alone had an increased likelihood of experiencing both mental health outcomes compared to men who remained living with others. Men who became married had a lower likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms than men who did not go through any family change. The qualitative findings show that it is not only family change, but its consequences linked to child maintenance complexities that is more stressful affecting men’s mental well-being. The consequences include being denied access and custody of the children. Trying to adjust to living away from their children and being excluded from the children’s lives by their ex-partners left men distressed. Quantitative findings show that men who paid child maintenance were less likely to experience psychiatric or psychological disorders than men who were not paying. However, from the qualitative findings, men who were paying child maintenance complained of how their partners gave them limited access to the children and only sought money from them making it appear as if it is the only role they can do for their children. Yet they wanted to be part of their children’s lives. Some of the men cried as they explained how being excluded from the lives of their children affected their health. Conclusions: The findings indicate that changing to live alone is a risk factor for both mental health outcomes. Men who changed to live with a partner (cohabiting) had an increased risk of experiencing depressive symptoms. Those who transitioned to be married across the five waves had a reduced likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. Child maintenance complexities that men encounter also affect their mental health. The complexities include undermining the fatherhood role through the exclusion in decision-making, denial of access to the children, and child custody. Policy recommendations: The findings imply that the changing nature of the family in South Africa characterised by increasing cohabitation and living alone affects men’s mental health. Men living alone and cohabiting require mental health support. Counselling should be done simultaneously with interventions that help men who are denied access to their children. Community programs that address mental health needs of men undergoing family change should be done. Including educational campaigns that raise awareness about mental health implications of family change and the importance of seeking help. Child access denial should be addressed, existing laws should ensure that both parents have equal access to the children. Crying in men should be normalized through public awareness campaigns that challenge traditional notions of masculinity. Interventions to assist men experiencing challenges to have access to their children should be carried out simultaneously with counselling as the findings highlight that men live with the pain of being denied access and custody of their children. Frontiers for Further Research: The findings showed that men were weak and powerless on matters to do with child access and custody for their children from previous relationships. Studies should be conducted which explore how the hegemonic masculinities are affected in the context of child maintenance and investigate how men feel when they experience challenges as fathers documenting their experiences regarding the various health problems, they have developed. There is a need to study gender differences in the context of family change and mental health in South Africa considering an increase in mental health problems and the changing nature of the family. The study findings show that depressive symptoms are concentrated more among young men than the elderly. Further research can be done that focus on male adolescents’ mental health.Item Gender-based violence in Sri Lanka: Has Sustainable Development Goal 5 been an effective policy tool?(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Jurgensen, Kim; Zähringer, NatalieThis research paper is an investigation of gender-based violence and gender inequality in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was chosen as a case study because it ended the 26-year civil war in 2009, and has had over a decade since this reset moment to rebuild the country. The paper builds on feminist research which says that high levels of gender inequality give rise to high levels of violence against women. The research is based on a gender structural inequality theoretical framework, and uses the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG 5 which talks to gender equality) as the measurements of these structures. While there has been work done on various aspects of development in Sri Lanka, the purpose of this research project was to pull together the targets under SDG 5 and, using a process tracing methodology, demonstrate their effect on levels of violence against women. The research stated upfront that data for the dependent variable (violence against women) was already known, and that data would be sought for the independent variables (i.e. the remaining targets under SDG 5) to show correlation between the DV and IVs. The research showed that there has been poor implementation for most of the targets under SDG 5, and as such the outcomes were mostly negative. These findings were in line with the theoretical framework of gender structural inequality, and the feminist writings of the link between gender inequality and violence against women. It was interesting to see that on two main areas i.e. sexual health and education (which does not fall under SDG 5), Sri Lanka has almost complete gender parity. This demonstrated that women’s economic power and participatory parity (i.e. participating at senior level in the labour market and in government) were decisive factors in entrenching conservative societal views that undermine women’s agency and entrenches unequal power dynamics in the home, where most of the violence occurs.Item Gold, Politics and Violence: Artisanal gold mining in Kwekwe City, 1980-2022(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Nkomo, Tilda; Skosana, Dineo; Musemwa, MuchapararaThe study sought to reveal the murky, multidirectional and dynamic political, economic and socio-cultural exchanges that have often followed ‘informalisation’ of natural resource extraction in Zimbabwe. It considered how artisanal mining became a source of everyday social, political and economic contestations. In an economy that is in crisis, and a political terrain characterised by state-sponsored violence, persistent electioneering mode, politics of patronage, artisanal mining –which has directly and indirectly drawn thousands of people – has created new ideas for both the political elite and the general populace about political survival, basic economic sustenance and accumulation. It demonstrated that, for instance, politicians used artisanal mining for vote mobilisation whereas, artisanal miners needed politicians for access to the mines and related activities. As a result, the line between politicians and artisanal miners was increasingly blurred; artisanal mining was now a source of income not only to direct participants but has also benefited downstream formal and informal activities such as vending, transportation, security, among others. Building on literature that has focused on Southern Africa and other regions of the continent, the study considered how artisanal mining has contributed to both building and destroying various aspects of Zimbabwe’s wider society: the growth of new entrepreneurs, the transformation of the rural economy, the destruction of the environment, increased political and non-political violence, among other consequences. It examined everyday interactions between economic, social and political forces, with particular focus on the grassroots.Item Governing Children in Street Situations in Pretoria: Vulnerability and Social Protection in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Matarise, FungaiThe vulnerability of children in post-Apartheid South Africa has been a major issue in social and development policy debates for decades now. Children are situated within the wider notion of “Vulnerable Groups” that is a central tenet in South African public and development policy discourse. This thesis examines the vulnerability of children in street situations as defined in the Children’s Act no. 38. of 2005. Children in street situations are a distinct category of vulnerable children that has experienced and continues to experience countless privations on the streets across South Africa. The issue of children in street situations raises fundamental questions about the political, economic and social aspects of inequality, marginality, and social exclusion in the post-Apartheid state. Hence, a central question in debates surrounding the interventions of state agencies on children in street situations is to consider how social and public policy articulate in concrete ways the country’s commitment to social inclusion, social justice and the fight against inequalities. Yet, with specific reference to children in street situations, little is known about the legal, material and practical governance of these category of children in South Africa. This study examines the governance of Children in Street Situations in Pretoria– the administrative capital of South Africa. The Department of Social Development (DSD) is the main provider for social interventions in the country, including in Pretoria. This is an exploratory study, based on my field research with informants at the Department of Social Development (DSD) and related organisations working on addressing the issue of Children in Street Situations. The study combines data from face to-face interviews with social workers at the DSD and telephone conversations with non governmental organisations (NGOs) personnel alongside textual analysis of official documents, policy reports and guidelines, legal provisions and media reports. Using discourse analysis and a post structural deconstructive approach, the thesis examines and unpacks the value and limits of vulnerability as a critical and core concept in understanding social protection in South Africa’s public and development policy. The thesis argues that a critical approach to the conceptualisation of vulnerability in South African public and development policy is important because it frames the legal and institutional responses to categories of people perceived to be in need of social protection, including children in street situations. The thesis develops this argument empirically by analyzing and discussing the representations of children in street situations in South Africa along mostly negative perceptions of these children and underlines how these representations are important to the framing and practice of social protection in aw, legislation and social policy. Furthermore, in discussing some of the social interventions for children in street situations and the challenges involved for DSD workers, this study also finds that the social problem of children in street situations is defined by ambiguity: among social workers at the DSD there are divergent views on whether these children exist and pose a policy challenge or not. Against a generic conceptualisation of children as similarly characterized by vulnerability, the thesis suggests that a further disaggregation of children in street situations as children in a specific social situation is necessary to appreciate their special vulnerabilities and needs. This fits a purposive response, more effective and targeted initiatives in care and protection that enhance their capabilities and well-being of children in street situations.Item In Search of Blackwomen’s Voices – Engendering South African Liberation Movement(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Rodwell, Karabo-Maya; Shange, KholekaThe Black Consciousness Movement played a vital role in South Africa’s fight for liberation against the apartheid government. A significant part of this movement were the Black women that risked their lives for the country. Despite the work that they have all done and continue to do, Black women in this movement have faced multiple challenges related to their gender. I am interested in sharing the experiences of these women to add to the growing literature on the role and impact of Black women in South Africa’s history. To do this, I conducted interviews with six Black women over six months, between July 2022 and January 2023, all of whom have been involved in the Black Consciousness Movement. The participants in this research represent a small glimpse into the experiences of Black women in South African liberation movements. This research report follows the lived experiences of Black women in South Africa’s liberation movement, looking specifically at the Black Consciousness Movement. My research found that while each of these women were involved in the movement at different time periods, and in different areas of South Africa, many of their experiences overlap. I have broken these findings into three major themes. The first ethnographic chapter follows their early consciousness building and when they believe they came into consciousness. This chapter explores the formative years of Black women in the Black Consciousness Movement, namely who and or what influenced their political consciousness. The second ethnographic chapter examines Black women’s subjective interpretations of Black Consciousness and the impact this has on the self. While they were all part of the same movement they all seemed to have experienced the ideology differently. The third and final ethnographic chapter interrogates the marginalisation of Black women in the BCM. Here I discuss how women joined this structure for the emancipation of Black people at large, as well as connections to the ideology, and yet many felt that as women they were not always allowed the space to fully participate.Item Justice as Recognition in the Ecological Community(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-06) Francis, Romain; Hamilton, LawrenceThis thesis postulates that an alternate mode of recognition is required to develop an authentic conception of justice that reconciles the subaltern’s desire for dignity with affording greater love, care, and respect for nature. Extant redistributive and recognitive justice frames within traditional western political theory and philosophy are strictly anthropocentric and restrict nature to a purely utilitarian function in the satisfaction of human needs. This maintains a moral hierarchy between humans and nature that perpetuates ecological injustice. Using decoloniality as both a method and critical analytical framework, this thesis develops and employs the coloniality of nature to illustrate that the continued destruction, exploitation, and disrespect for nature is fundamentally tied to the misrecognition of subaltern people. Misrecognition is a product of a deep-seated sociogenic problem of coloniality introduced during European colonisation, which consolidated the superior status of a hegemonic western subjectivity. Other experiences, knowledges, practices, and ways of articulating human-nature relations were rendered as non-scientific and superstitious and devoid of any value. The misrecognition of subaltern people denied humanity an opportunity to learn from other viewpoints and integrate them into an inclusive idea of justice where no single subjectivity assumes a dominant status. Centered on a decolonial love predicated on Fanon’s idea of “building the world of the You”, not the I, Us or We, this thesis draws on the principles of transculturalism and border thinking to promulgate a practical idea of justice as recognition in the context of an ecological community, that is more inclusive of other living and non-living entities. It advances a dialogical mode of recognition that attempts to achieve the following objectives: i) promote critical introspection amongst the subaltern to understand how their experience of (mis)recognition is connected to the destruction of nature, and how their attitudes towards nature were altered by the introduction of western modernity, capitalism and colonisation, ii) enable those social groups that are on the top of the ontological hierarchy to understand their role in such processes and how to address them, and iii) to demonstrate that increasing humanity’s love, care, and respect for nature is not possible without first addressing misrecognition between people.Item Love, Care, and Cure: Economies of Affect in a Zimbabwean Transnational Pentecostal Church(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Thonje, Admire; Katsaura, ObviousThis thesis attends to affective relations as they manifest in local and transnational settings. The thesis’s empirical site is a Zimbabwe-founded Pentecostal church which is pseudonymised as Speak in Tongues (SIT). SIT has since grown to establish presence in South Africa, among a host of other countries. The research deployed a multi-sited ethnography whose spatial connections included Johannesburg, Pretoria, and the church headquarters in Gweru (Zimbabwe). Relying on purposively selected South African branches and their membership, ties among and ties between members and non-members are explored to reveal the formation of affective community, affective solidarity, and affective curatorship. These three affective relationalities emerge, solidify and in some instances disintegrate. In tracing the ties, the thesis highlights the productivity of affect. I argue that affective ties form and circulate in what I deem to be a relational economy of affect. For a start, affective community in this thesis emerges as the product of deliberate efforts by the leadership as well as discursive tools which shape the ways in which church relationalities members relate among themselves, as well as between members and their leaders. This is, however, not a straightforward endeavour because members negotiate and resist some of the efforts and discourses. As a result of the varied intensities of affective ties, notions of affective community tend to yield micro-communities even within the church as a group. The result are different sensibilities of affective solidarity. Affective solidarity’s variability is evident in how love is negotiated in the church as well as how members attend celebrations of love in weddings. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, some members require the intervention of fellow members and leaders to extend a form of affective pastoral care which is identified as ‘affective curatorship’. Affective curatorship is extended to members as an extension of the church’s care work. It is also extended to non-members as part of social outreach which ostensibly doubles as some form of proselytizing. In exploring these dimensions, the study engages the literature on affective relations (Pedwell, 2014; Röttger-Rössler & Slaby, 2018; von Scheve, 2018) via Sara Ahmed’s ‘affect economies’ to reveal the production of affective ties in social encounters that occur in the everyday. Contrary to scholarship which posits affect as a neutral and passive force which only appears in moments of encounter, the study spotlights the active production of affective ties in social contact. In the process, it reveals a vibrant life — an affective economy where affects and emotions are produced, circulated and sustained both in and outside of the church — around the selected Pentecostal church. The vibrant life lies beyond sensationalised miracles that hog the public limelight. In addition, the study shows through affective ties that the distinction between sacred and profane is very shaky. Affective ties bind believers and non-believers as they share social spaces as well as materials.Item Menstrual Hygiene and Management in Zamimpilo Riverlea Informal Settlement(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-08) Khofi, Lucy; Manderson, LenoreManaging menstrual hygiene in low- and middle-income countries is difficult, due to lack of proper facilities. With inadequate WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services and infrastructure, such as proper working toilets and lack of access to sanitary materials, some women end up using unhygienic sanitary materials, such as rags, leaves, sand, tissues and so forth to manage menstruation. In this study, I used an anthropological approach to describe and analyse women’s understandings of menstrual health and hygiene in the informal settlement of Zamimpilo, Johannesburg. Firstly, I looked at how women understood menstruation and how this was influenced by community attitudes and social norms. Secondly, I identified what material, structural and normative factors hindered or enabled women to manage their menstruation and hygiene: shame, embarrassment, level of education, access to information, gender inequality, affordability of pads and soap, access to water, and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities. Thirdly, I explored women’s experiences of their bodies, and how menstruation influenced their decisions to go out, go to school, have sex, bathe with others, manage pain, and sleep. I looked also at the practices that women used to manage menstrual waste. As I illustrate, these practices are shaped by cultural, social, and religious factors. I have explored women’s creative ways to manage menstruation, menstrual waste, and hygiene under different conditions, and explored the extent to which they have internalised or resisted negative attitudes towards their bodies and bodily products. I emphasise women’s narratives. In theorising these questions, I have adapted ideas from Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas, and following her, I have analysed menstruation as something polluting and dirty that contributes to menstrual shame. I have also drawn on Emily Martin’s book The Woman in the Body (2001) and examined how social and cultural factors shape women’s understanding of themselves. The data on which this thesis was based is drawn from research using qualitative methods. Due to constraints in movement and social interactions associated with COVID-19, primary data were collected through telephonic semi-structured interviews. Twelve women – six young women between 18 and 25 years and six women between 25 and 40 years of age – were each interviewed twice, bringing the total number of in-depth interviews to 24. Participants were recruited through a key informant, using purposeful sampling for maximum variability to ensure diversity of age, ethnicity, religion, education background, among participants. This was significant given that the population of Zamimpilo was diverse and includes people from different provinces and communities: Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi and other South Africans all live in Zamimpilo, as well as people from other African countries including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Nigeria. My findings suggest that women’s MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management) in Zamimpilo is still a huge challenge. The environment is deeply compromised, and no residents have access to adequate housing, water and sanitation. These basic challenges, along with the lack of sanitary products, hinder women from managing their menstrual hygiene. However, I found that these women used alternatives to manage their MH (Menstrual Hygiene), including various herbs for menstrual hygiene purposes and to prevent urinary tract and reproductive tract infections. Women expressed various understandings of their bodies, menstrual blood and menstruation as a process. I describe how the South African Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has tried to address ‘period poverty’ in the country with the collaboration of non-government, non-profit organisations, the private sector, and menstrual activists. However, the need is greater than available resources. In places like Zamimpilo, women still do not receive any assistance from community organisations or from the state, and so they must improvise to manage this most private, routine, mundane event.
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