Generally, traditional "marriages" according to Islamic custom are void in South African law because they are potentially polygynous and do not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 . A valid concern for those who oppose polygyny is that it may enforce and promote gender inequality in that it is practised in patriarchal Muslim societies. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 contains numerous provisions aimed at combating gender inequalities, and these could be used to justify the policy of non-recognition. On the other hand, the Constitution has ushered in an era of tolerance and empathy; and the equality and religion clauses could be used to ensure that polygynous marriages are no longer ignored. This study will examine the tensions between Muslim personal law and clauses in the Constitution which have led to calls for the reformation and codification of Muslim personal law. / Private Law / LL. M.

Women in the Mutima Church in Zambia have for some years had the highest HIV rate in the church, but because this is one of the African Indigenous Churches (AICs), not much is known about the behavioural and other risk factors that predispose these women to the virus. One of the reasons is that some members of the Mutima Church cannot make their own decisions when getting married. The church founder makes marital decisions for some of the church members. This problem raises serious questions for HIV health practitioners, activists and some of the church members. Informed by some of the Mutima Church members that HIV testing in their church is not considered a norm, this dissertation demonstrates theological teachings on polygamy and HIV and Aids employed by the church founder. In this dissertation, some church members from the Mutima Church were asked to describe and explain what polygamy and HIV and Aids meant to them and how they theologically perceived and understood them. While the major results indicate that polygamy in the Mutima Church contributes to the spread of HIV and Aids, the other new research findings are that the Mutima Church members' theological understanding on polygamy is that it is a blessing from God; and that HIV and Aids is a punishment from God. These responses are analysed and discussed in this dissertation. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Generally, traditional "marriages" according to Islamic custom are void in South African law because they are potentially polygynous and do not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 . A valid concern for those who oppose polygyny is that it may enforce and promote gender inequality in that it is practised in patriarchal Muslim societies. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 contains numerous provisions aimed at combating gender inequalities, and these could be used to justify the policy of non-recognition. On the other hand, the Constitution has ushered in an era of tolerance and empathy; and the equality and religion clauses could be used to ensure that polygynous marriages are no longer ignored. This study will examine the tensions between Muslim personal law and clauses in the Constitution which have led to calls for the reformation and codification of Muslim personal law. / Private Law / LL. M.

<p>Poly, to live in several loving and intimate relationships at the same time, is one alternative to the mono norm. In Sweden polygamy is illegal yet in recent years poly has slowly started to enter the hetero normative political agenda and raise debate in the media. But what does poly mean, and how do those who identify with this type of relationship describe it in contrast to mono? The theoretical framework is based on a structural viewpoint of the changes in the organisation of the family and the growing de-traditionalism of society. Amongst other I use a Foucauldian perspective to explain the structural shift (yet not replacement) between an Alliance pattern and a Sexuality pattern. Other theories in use are that of the emerging ideal of The Pure Relationship and Queer Tendencies. The essay draws its empirical results from seven e-mail and/or face interviews with individuals who identify with poly. The results show that if poly and mono are both understood as expression of the pure relationship they are potentially not so different. Yet the stigma and the lack of role models show that there is much needed public debate about it to unleash it from old discourses that still seem to uphold the equation that love equals two partners. Drawing attention to queer mechanism and the initiated process of the decentralisation of the heterosexual norm, I speculate that in the future polygamy must not be a foreign concept in Swedish society.</p>

Poly, to live in several loving and intimate relationships at the same time, is one alternative to the mono norm. In Sweden polygamy is illegal yet in recent years poly has slowly started to enter the hetero normative political agenda and raise debate in the media. But what does poly mean, and how do those who identify with this type of relationship describe it in contrast to mono? The theoretical framework is based on a structural viewpoint of the changes in the organisation of the family and the growing de-traditionalism of society. Amongst other I use a Foucauldian perspective to explain the structural shift (yet not replacement) between an Alliance pattern and a Sexuality pattern. Other theories in use are that of the emerging ideal of The Pure Relationship and Queer Tendencies. The essay draws its empirical results from seven e-mail and/or face interviews with individuals who identify with poly. The results show that if poly and mono are both understood as expression of the pure relationship they are potentially not so different. Yet the stigma and the lack of role models show that there is much needed public debate about it to unleash it from old discourses that still seem to uphold the equation that love equals two partners. Drawing attention to queer mechanism and the initiated process of the decentralisation of the heterosexual norm, I speculate that in the future polygamy must not be a foreign concept in Swedish society.

An application of theory to various reality television shows in order to discuss the emergence and encouragement of the false self in our society is the focus of this work. Toddlers and Tiaras, Hoarders and Sister Wives are the three television shows that will be analyzed by using content analysis in order to examine the effects of consumerism, narcissism and the emergence of the false self. The limitless character of the economy coupled with narcissism and an increased focus on the self contributes to the development of the false self within the individual. People may not even be aware of the push to be narcissistic, focused on our own biographies and self-promotion, yet people are aware of their suffering and unhappiness. Many individuals are left questioning why it is that they are never completely satisfied even as they accumulate notoriety, success, material wealth and possessions. An ideology of greatness and being the best is found in so many avenues of our daily lives, and at times it can be overwhelming, and if we do not possess these skills and qualities we are encouraged to just fake it.

Šis darbas yra skirtas banguotųjų papūgėlių veisimosi sistemos, kintant lyčių santykiui grupėje, tyrimams. Tyrimų rezultatai rodo, kad vyraujanti veisimosi sistema banguotųjų papūgėlių grupėje su vienodu lyčių santykiu, grupėje esant patinų trūkumui ir grupėje, kurioje trūksta patelių, yra monogamija. Poligamijos atveju, poliginiški patinai vieną savo patelių – dominantę - maitina geriau negu kitą, nedominuojančią patelę. Kopuliacijos su ne savo poros nariu yra retos. Patelės kopuliuoja su tais patinais, kurie geriausiai jas maitina. Ištirta, kad dominuojančios patelės veisiasi geriau negu nedominuojančios. Agonistinė šios rūšies paukščių elgsena jų veisimosi sistemos tiesiogiai neįtakoja. Monogamija yra vyraujantis banguotųjų papūgėlių veisimosi būdas, kadangi patinų tėviška globa yra labai svarbus veiksnys, įtakojantis patelių veisimosi sėkmę. / The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of sex ratio on the reproductive system of the budgerigars. The main reproductive system in all the groups was monogamy, i.e. in the group of birds with the equal sex ratio, in the group with female-biased sex ratio and in the group with male-biased sex ratio. The polygynous males fed their primary females more often in comparison with secondary females. Extra-pair copulations were rare. The females copulated with those males which fed them the best in the group of polygamous birds. The reproductive success of primary females was higher in comparison to secondary females. The agonistic behaviour was not an immediate factor of the main reproductive system in budgerigars. Monogamy seems to be the optimum mating situation for female of this species, because the paternal investment of the male turns out to be very important to female’s breeding success.

This study is based on the main female African characters in Une si longue lettre written in 1979 by Mariama Bâ and Assèze l’Africaine written in 1994 by Calixthe Beyala. Both novels describe the African society and the obstacles that exist for women in this society where men dominate. This study presents the transformation of Ramatoulaye that is a traditional and passive woman but she becomes modern. In addition, it presents the transformation of young Aïssatou that becomes an independent and strong woman, in these two novels. These two women are facing similar forms of discriminations and oppression in the African society and they are struggling against injustice in various ways. The aim of this analysis is to investigate how the image of the African women and the feminism in Africa show and develop through the main characters, Ramatoulaye and Aïssatou. The conclusion reveal that the image of the African women has considerably changed over the years in a positive way and that Femininity is a cultural construction and not a natural construction. The conclusion further reveal that even today a woman is not independent, but is still considered "the Other" in relation to the man.

Thesis (M.A. (Political & International Studies)) - Rhodes University, 2009.

abstract: My dissertation project, Mormons at the World's Fair: A Study of Religious and Cultural Agency and Transformation looks at a pivotal period of transition within the American religious and political national culture (1880-1907). Using Mormonism as an important focal point of national controversy and cultural change, this dissertation looks at the interconnections between Mormon transitions and the larger national transformations then under way in what historians call the "progressive" era. Prominent scholars have recognized the 1893 World's Fair as an important moment that helped initiate the "dawning" of religious pluralism in America. This national response to American religious diversity, however, is limited to a nineteenth-century historiographical framework, which made real religious pluralism in the next century more difficult. Bringing together into one narrative the story of the anti-polygamy crusades of the 1880s, the ambivalent presence (and non presence) of Mormonism at the World's Fair of 1893, and the drawn-out US Senate Hearings and ultimate victory of Mormon apostle and Senator Reed Smoot in 1907, this dissertation offers new insights into the meaning and limitations of American religious liberty, the dynamics of minority agency, as well as a deeper understanding of America's developing national identity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Religious Studies 2012