Zimbabweans of all walks of life have crossed over to South Africa since the late 1990s for long and short periods of time, some of them even remaining there permanently. The increased amount of the migration is largely blamed on Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political instability by most scholars. However, each individual would eventually migrate because of pressure that usually comes from the household. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating household influence on an individual’s decision to migrate to South Africa. This study was carried out in the central Zimbabwean city of Gweru. A household survey was conducted and basic descriptive analyses were used to generate the findings. The results indicate that only 2% of the households in the sample did not have a migrant in another country. Also, about 43.7% of all migrants were females and among those female migrants who have children, 45.7% of them had children younger than five years staying home when they left for South Africa. Most households seem to have a strong influence on the migration decision, and as a result the majority of the migrants send remittances back home. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This study investigates gender differences in South African self-employment, focusing particularly on earnings differences. The study identifies a large earnings gap in favour of men in self-employment, and it explores how the determinants of female and male returns to self-employment differ. Using a combination of descriptive and econometric methods and data from the Labour Force Surveys for 2001-2007, I find that female self-employment is more likely than male selfemployment to exhibit characteristics that are associated with low returns. The female self-employed tend to work part-time, be home-based, have own account enterprises and work in unskilled occupations in the informal sector. The data also suggest the presence of gender discrimination among the self-employed which may be the result of consumer discrimination and discrimination in access to credit or product markets. Focusing on the non-agricultural informal sector, I construct a more detailed gendered profile of the self-employed using a household survey from October 2005, namely the Survey of Employers and the Self-Employed. This survey captures a wealth of information on the self-employed and their businesses which is not available in the Labour Force Survey data. The analysis reveals that, in comparison to men, women are more likely to enter self-employment out of necessity, spend less starting a business, have poorer access to transport and report lower overheads. In light of the key constraints identified particularly by women in self-employment, the analysis suggests that assistance with marketing, better access to raw materials/supplies, provision of an alternative location, and better access to credit markets would help improve the profitability of their businesses. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Aim: The practice of virginity testing was done from the early twentieth century in KwaZulu-Natal. Many regard virginity testing as the only way to revitalize what they view as lost cultural values. The aim of the study is to understand the reasons for undergoing virginity testing from the perspective of adolescent girls and boys. The study will explore the importance attached to virginity testing by adolescent girls and boys. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV is an effective and important strategy for prevention, care and support. The study examines factors affecting utilization of VCT among pregnant women in Lesotho. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The quantitative part of the study utilized the 2004 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey data and the qualitative study drew on data from focus group discussions among women attending antenatal clinics in Maseru and Leribe. The majority of pregnant women have never been tested for HIV/AIDS. Married women were less likely to go for VCT as compared with those who are not married. The study also established that place of residence, education and marital status were significantly associated with knowledge of HIV/AIDS and ever been tested for HIV. Stigma and discriminations and fear associated with HIV testing were highlighted as the main factors hindering the use of VCT services among pregnant women. However, knowing one’s status in order to access early treatment was the main reason for utilizing VCT. The VCT promotion programme for pregnant women in Lesotho has to focus on enhancing positive perception of VCT and alleviating perceived barriers related to the use of VCT services. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Fertility is one of the major tenets of demography. Its importance lies in the determination of fertility trends in a country, in a specific time period. These statistical inferences of fertility play an imperative role in population policy formation and planning. Thus the importance of the measurement of fertility remains undisputed. Due to the significance of fertility, its measurement and its profound impact on societies, acknowledging and addressing the quality of fertility data is of great importance. This research study was conceived in response to the above concern. This study aims at addressing and providing insight into birth history data irregularities and determining interventions of working with this issue in the context of South Africa. Through secondary analysis (i.e. descriptive exploratory and comparative analysis) the study sought to firstly establish a demographic profile of women associated with inconsistent and inaccurate reporting of their birth histories. Secondly the research attempted to ascertain a relationship between the socio-economic statuses of individuals and retrospective reporting. A third objective was to note the sex-selectiveness of reporting (i.e. were more girls or boys reported or misreported on in the retrospective birth histories). The study has established that older, married women with some educational attainment, of rural areas from either the middle and lower income categories tend to misreport more frequently than their converse counterparts. Furthermore, a plausible relationship between the socio-economic statuses of individuals was observed. In terms of the sex-selectiveness of reporting, in general, boys were reported on more consistently than girls. However in certain cases, it was found that rural and middle income women reported accurately on girl children born alive and dead girl children. Recommendations made with respect to improve the quality of fertility data for include the proper training of enumerators and data capturers, quality control during data collection, testing of questionnaires, dealing with social, cultural and language barriers and the reinforcement of publicity campaigns for censuses and surveys. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Background: The economic crisis that intensified in Zimbabwe between 2004 and 2009 could have exposed children under the age of 5 at an elevated risk of dying. The study investigates the determinants of childhood mortality in the country 4 years preceding the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey of 2010-2011. Aims and Objectives: To establish child mortality determinants in Zimbabwe for the period 2006-2010 during the economic crisis. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study which used data from the ZDHS 2010-2011. Using logistic regression and survival analysis, the study estimates the odds of dying and the survivorship probabilities for the birth cohort of 2006-2010. Results: The results indicate that children born to mothers age 40-49 had 88% higher chances of dying compared to children born to mothers in the age group 15-19 in a model that controls for age of mother and gender of child. Female children had 23% lower chances of dying compared to male children in a model that controls for gender and age of mother and was statistically significant at p-value<.05. Children born to mothers with higher levels of education had 16% lower chances of dying compared to children born to mothers with lower levels of education in a model that controls for maternal education, age of mother and gender of child. Children residing in households with higher socio-economic status had 12% lower chances of dying than children residing in households with lower socio-economic status in a model that controls for household socio-economic status, maternal education, age of mother and child’s gender. Children residing in rural areas had 17% lower chances of dying than children residing in urban areas in a model that controls for area of residence, household socio-economic status, maternal education, age of mother and gender of child. Children residing in some of the country’s poorest provinces namely Matabeleland North and South had 72% and 70% lower chances of dying respectively and both were statistically significant at p-value<.05 in a model that controls for province of residence, area of residence whether rural or urban, age of mother, maternal education, gender of child and household socio-economic status. Conclusions: The study established some of the determinants of childhood mortality during the country’s economic crisis. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

In this study I explore the extent of computer literacy in South Africa, the correlates of computer literacy, and the relationship between computer literacy and labour market outcomes, namely the probability of employment and earnings among working-age South Africans. I use data from the first wave of the National Income Dynamics Panel survey of 2008, the first national household survey to collect information on computer skills. This study focuses on computer literacy as it has become an integral skill in today’s world of fast technological change. Understanding the unequal distribution of this form of human capital and the benefits it affords those in the labour market, is important particularly in South Africa, where there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor. I find that the distribution of computer skills in South Africa tends to mirror existing inequalities; females, Africans, those with low levels of schooling and those living outside of formal urban areas, for instance, are less likely to be computer literate. Further, I find that there is a positive association between computer literacy and the probability of employment among working-age adults, and a positive relationship between computer literacy and earnings among the employed in South Africa. These associations hold after controlling for a variety of demographic, human capital, family background, and in the case of the earnings regressions, job characteristics. The results also suggest that, as would be expected, those who are highly computer literate do better than those who have basic use skills. I also consider the limitations of my methods and the data I use, and the implications of the results for education and skills development policy in South Africa. / M.A. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

The primary objectives in this study were to gain a deep level of understanding of Kenyan women’s experiences of seeking abortion, both safe and unsafe, and to explore how social and legal issues impact their choices and the routes they take to obtain abortion. I explored the contexts and interpreted 49 in-depth narratives of women’s emic experiences of abortion in Mombasa city and the Kilifi district, Kenya, using a qualitative form of inquiry conducted between April and July 2005. Ethical Review Committees granted ethical clearance to this study. This emic work revealed gender inequity consistent with developing feminist theory and thus how women conceive gendered relationships is introduced in this analysis of women's narratives. The findings provide new insights as well as useful confirmatory knowledge, gleaned from detailed empirical evidence within Kenyan women’s social contexts. The women have revealed the evidence through their narratives; such an approach is largely missing in existing abortion literature. The prominent finding is that women do not abort motherhood, but they do abort particular pregnancies to protect motherhood; to avoid a difficult motherhood likely to compromise the quality of care they envisage for their potential and existing children. This includes ensuring the best nurturing environment, paternal and religious identity, social legitimacy. The abortion decision is difficult to make and thoroughly considered. The married women make a consultative decision with their ‘breadwinners’ having the upper hand. Legal barriers cannot bar abortion but entrench inequities in abortion care access, heighten secrecy, stigma, and hamper prompt comprehensive post abortion care seeking. Thus, financial resources, peers, geographical remoteness, and knowledge significantly influence the type of abortion accessed. Consequently, unsafe abortion threatens motherhood of the most vulnerable groups of women. The foremost recommendation is that public health law must ensure healthy, enjoyable, dignified motherhood for the women; hence safe early abortion (first trimester) must become accessible to alleviate existing health care inequities. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Not much is known about young fathers in South Africa; as a result, there is a lack of literature that focuses on young fathers and fatherhood in South Africa. However, there is a growing body of international literature about young fathers and their perceptions of fatherhood, even though this is mostly concentrated in the global north, especially the United States. The overall aim of the study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of early fatherhood among 'Black' university students in Durban. This was done by engaging young black men that are fathers. A qualitative approach was adopted in order to give the respondents freedom to discuss their experiences at length. The sample consisted of seven respondents that are Black, fulltime students and aged 18-25. Young fathers who are 'Black' were chosen purposefully because the statistics show that the fet1ility rate of young Black people is significantly high when compared to young people of other race groups in South Africa. This study found that all the young fathers that participated in this study had not intended to have children, and were therefore not ready to become fathers when their partners told them that they were pregnant. Furthermore, it was found that all the young fathers that pa11icipated in this study did not live with their children. Instead, the children lived with their mothers. There were various reasons given for this arrangement, but the most dominant one was that it was because the young fathers had not paid damages to their partners' families, as cultural practices dictate, for having impregnated them. Most young fathers that participated in this study are no longer intimately involved with the mothers of their children. However, they are on good terms with them and they have managed to maintain civil relationships with them in order to have access to their children. This study found that modem contraceptive knowledge is high amongst young fathers, although the usage is inconsistent. Finally, this study found that young fathers equate fatherhood to responsibility, providing financially, giving emotional support, and spending quality time with their children. However, there was a feeling of inadequacy and dissatisfaction amongst young fathers because of hindrances that prevent them from executing their roles of fatherhood effectively. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This dissertation provides a review of the nature of urban environment and livelihoods in an attempt to improve understanding and awareness of challenges facing cities and towns in developing countries, in particular their impact on poor women and children. Some urpan challenges are context-based and cultural, but there are special commonalities found in most developing countries like crime and unhealthy environment per se, that exacerbate poor people's vulnerability. Women and children are identified in series of research to be the most poverty stricken and vulnerable; hence prone to shocks. It is therefore important that factors such as urban poverty that increase their marginalization be explicitly identified if the global reduction of poverty is to be maintained. However, given the increasing global poverty levels and enduring children's malnutrition levels, it is clear that major factors that determine livelihoods such as income, food security and health are still inadequate to meet the challenges that urban areas offer today. Other than the material wealth, complex urban livelihoods have amongst other things, reduced provision of other socio-psychological factors such as caregiving, which are critical for children's development and nutrition. Urban livelihoods force women to participate whole-heartedly in the wage labour. On one hand, this incidence may lead to household's food security, children's nutrition, women's empowerment (socially, economically and psychologically) and optimisation of their autonomy. But on the other hand this can result into reduced women's devotedness and effectiveness to child caring, thereby resulting into child malnutrition and child poverty. It is therefore the aim of this research study to demonstrate that while wage income can be a critical aspect of children's nutrition in urban areas, without adequate caregiving behaviours our goal of reducing children malnutrition is no where near to be reached. This research has used qualitative data owing to the information needed, which is primarily based on opinions, beliefs and perceptions about children's health and nutrition status. The analysis showed that demographic and socio-economic status in the community and household levels are crucial in determining women's ability to sustainable food security, child care and nutrition. Other factors identified as crucial in child's nutritional status were health, education and age of a mothers and people who provide care to children when mothers are at work. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.