- Title
- The perception of Khayelitsha women on socioeconomic gains since 1994
- Creator
- Stofile-Hlahla, Linda
- Subject
- Women -- South Africa -- Cape Town -- Economic conditions
- Subject
- Empowerment -- Women -- South Africa -- Cape Town Women -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Cape Town
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MPhil
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35267
- Identifier
- vital:33688
- Description
- Post 1994, empowerment became the buzz word in the South African new dispensation and has been on the agenda of almost every democratic elected South African President including the current one. However, there is a perceived confusion on the meaning of the word as others believe that is a false affirmative action while others believe that it requires enablers and cannot only be individually driven in the absence of such resources. Empowerment in context refers to a process whereby those who has been denied opportunities in terms of making remarkable life choices gains such an ability in terms of power to improve their living state and of those around them. For women, it is a capacity to be dependent in terms of choices such as economic participation through business ventures or choice of marriage and more. However, the reality does not necessary mean that such choices are liveable. The lack of empowerment of women is strongly linked to socio-economic, political, stereotypic tendencies associated with culture and requires some concerted efforts by all including communities since its manifestation affects families, communities and nations. Its plight is mostly evident in the villages, rural communities and townships and as results has draws the attention of the researcher to establish such factors that hinders empowerment of women in the 22 years of democracy. The aim of the study is to establish whether women in Khayelitsha have been able to realise socio economic gains (i.e. economic empowerment) since 1994. This study intends to do so by examining perception of women regarding factors that hamper their economic empowerment in Khayelitsha, Western Cape. Additional to that, is the perception of how government strategies including policies have enhanced their socio-economic participation or discrimination of women to defeat the notion of disempowerment. It will provide recommendations on how the system can be improved to prioritise the needs of the women and later improve implementation of the women empowerment strategies. A sample of 46 focus group participants were identified and the qualitative research approach was exploited to gain first-hand knowledge of such perceptions. The focus group study found that women empowerment is still a far-fetched dream and cannot be achieved until all barriers are removed. Moreover, the government mechanisms to facilitate economic empowerment of women are not known and does not benefit all women. It has also found out that such mechanisms are not the answer to every woman`s troubles. The study recommends the following: Government should intensify policy implementation and expansion of the programmes to reach those poor women where sometimes information does not come to them. Government should intensify accountability checks especial in the grassroots level where most women are found. Women should be afforded opportunities and support to realise their full potential. Young women should be motivated to inculcate the culture of willingness to learn amongst themselves, by being involved in community projects as volunteers. The culture of “Vukuzenzele” need to be strengthened so that people can move away from the culture of dependency. Women need to be enlightened to be involved in their communities. Communities need to be capacitated on the notion of empowerment against the existing government policies and programmes. In case where policy gap is observed, policy review must be embarked on. The playing field need to level against discrimination by gender and capacitate women to take opportunities in areas that are male dominated. Government agencies need to be visible for communities to know their purpose and roles in making government realise its agenda. Access to finance for women should be prioritised for women to establish or expand their businesses. Lastly, Government need to devise means for people to be at the forefront of their development such that; they make informed choices, identify market opportunities, sustainable products and seek information to generate income through self-employment.
- Format
- x, 176 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Arts
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMU School of Governmental and Social Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | LINDA STOFILE-HLAHLA.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |