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This study examines the role women’s groups play in the lives of 10 Muslim women in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was employed to gain information from two women’s groups in Johannesburg. An open-ended questionnaire, focus groups, and individual interviews were used to elicit information. The data were initially analysed using a computer-based content analysis programme (Atlas-ti), to identify a priori and emergent themes and categories in the data. These themes and categories were then used as the basis for a qualitative interpretive analysis, focused in particular on issues of empowerment with respect to psychological, community, economic, intellectual and political empowerment, and more specifically on gender equality. The study would thus suggest that while these groups do have many positive outcomes, the issues dealt with in women’s groups cannot be isolated from the broader social context in which Muslim women live. While the processes of empowerment appear to have begun in areas of psychological, community, intellectual, economic and political empowerment in this sample of women, empowerment with respect to gender equality still seems far off.

This dissertation examines the experience that women have of the church. Work was done with groups of women in the Eastern Cape to hear their first hand experiences on this subject. A study was also made of the experiences of women as recorded in other parts of Africa and the world. South African women are situated within the broader context of society, thus also matters pertaining to this broader context were examined.The situation facing South African women in society and within the church is complex and difficult. In the final chapter, rather than looking at how women could change external structures, the focus is on women paying attention to themselves. The great importance of women honouring themselves, and giving themselves priority, and that of developing a spiritual practice that is nurturing and relevant to their lives, were suggested as a prerequisite for effective change on a wider level. An emphasis was thus put on the inner world of the woman, where, it is argued, many South African women need to experience a revolution. That women need support in this journey was stressed, with the participation in women's groups seen as being transforming for women. / Systematic Theology / Th. M. (System Theology)

The thesis examines how the social construction of African women in development discourse transformed from the 1970s to the 2000s, focusing in particular on the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). From the 1970s to the 1990s representations of African women were based on women’s economic potential. The mainstreaming of gender in the 1990s resulted in women being represented as agents of change. This approach gave women an opportunity to play roles in decision-making but led to policies that failed to challenge the established institutions. The emphasis on women as agents of change opened doors to some African women but with implications for the women’s movement. Only some middle-class women appear to benefit but their gains have been marginal in comparison to the gender inequalities that persist. The thesis uses secondary sources and interviews with development practitioners in Ottawa to understand the representation of African women as agents of change.

The thesis examines how the social construction of African women in development discourse transformed from the 1970s to the 2000s, focusing in particular on the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). From the 1970s to the 1990s representations of African women were based on women’s economic potential. The mainstreaming of gender in the 1990s resulted in women being represented as agents of change. This approach gave women an opportunity to play roles in decision-making but led to policies that failed to challenge the established institutions. The emphasis on women as agents of change opened doors to some African women but with implications for the women’s movement. Only some middle-class women appear to benefit but their gains have been marginal in comparison to the gender inequalities that persist. The thesis uses secondary sources and interviews with development practitioners in Ottawa to understand the representation of African women as agents of change.

This dissertation examines the experience that women have of the church. Work was done with groups of women in the Eastern Cape to hear their first hand experiences on this subject. A study was also made of the experiences of women as recorded in other parts of Africa and the world. South African women are situated within the broader context of society, thus also matters pertaining to this broader context were examined.The situation facing South African women in society and within the church is complex and difficult. In the final chapter, rather than looking at how women could change external structures, the focus is on women paying attention to themselves. The great importance of women honouring themselves, and giving themselves priority, and that of developing a spiritual practice that is nurturing and relevant to their lives, were suggested as a prerequisite for effective change on a wider level. An emphasis was thus put on the inner world of the woman, where, it is argued, many South African women need to experience a revolution. That women need support in this journey was stressed, with the participation in women's groups seen as being transforming for women. / Systematic Theology / Th. M. (System Theology)

The thesis examines how the social construction of African women in development discourse transformed from the 1970s to the 2000s, focusing in particular on the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). From the 1970s to the 1990s representations of African women were based on women’s economic potential. The mainstreaming of gender in the 1990s resulted in women being represented as agents of change. This approach gave women an opportunity to play roles in decision-making but led to policies that failed to challenge the established institutions. The emphasis on women as agents of change opened doors to some African women but with implications for the women’s movement. Only some middle-class women appear to benefit but their gains have been marginal in comparison to the gender inequalities that persist. The thesis uses secondary sources and interviews with development practitioners in Ottawa to understand the representation of African women as agents of change.