This study explores women's feelings of empowerment that result from participating in collective action events. The study contributes to the growing body of social work scholarship on empowerment practice by identifying and describing the specific variables that may contribute to or enhance empowerment feelings in women as a result of collective action participation.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Management Sciences(Peace-building), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This study examines gender based violence in a mining community and uses the case study of Trojan Nickel Mine in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe. Studies have shown that Mashonaland Central has the highest incidence rate of gender based violence in Zimbabwe. Mining communities are more susceptible to incidences of gender based violence because of their cultural heterogeneity which engender and generate conflict. The research examines gender based violence within the confines of several theories and conceptual frameworks such as social-learning theory, sex-role theory and ecological framework. It reveals that no factor can be singled out as the cause of gender based violence, but argues that patriarchy whose norms are embedded through culture contributes the most in constructing attitudes and perceptions which legitimize gender based violence. The study also identifies religious practices and the environment as playing key roles in encouraging gender based violence. The study in the end constructs an intervention model based on the ‘catch them young theory’ where young boys were trained on non-violent strategies of reducing gender based violence. This is against the background that men play an influential role in communities as decision makers and policy makers. This intervention targeted changing the behavior and attitude of boys over women and girls.

Thesis (LLD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The advent of a constitutional democracy in South Africa after the first non-racial democratic elections in 1994 and the subsequent adoption of a final constitution in 1996 introduced a legal order based on "democratic values, social justice and fundamental rights". The inception of a constitutional democracy in South African encourages an assessment of the possible constitutional ramifications of pornography, specifically within a discourse on women's interests in equality, human dignity and physical integrity. Under the strong influence of United States First Amendment doctrine, pornography is defined (and protected in the "marketplace of ideas") as a particular mode of expression, thus allowing pornography to be viewed as part of the fabric of an open, free and democratic society. Within this doctrinal context, the recognition and entrenchment of freedom of expression have firmly placed pornography on both the South African constitutional and political agendas. The objective of this study is to address specific aspects of the debate on adult heterosexual pornography (that is, pornography produced for and targeted at the male heterosexual market) in order to establish its constitutionality. This dissertation is not, however, intended as a discourse on pornography as a possible threat to the moral fibre of society, but rather about pornography as an invasion ofwomen's particular constitutional interests in equality, human dignity as well as security in and control over their bodies. To this end, Chapter 2 serves to establish a suitable theoretical framework that is capable of facilitating a woman-centred analysis of adult heterosexual pornography within the ambit of the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution. Consequently, the merit ofliberal feminism and radical feminist thought is critically assessed against the particular (constitutional and doctrinal) demands presented by a study of this nature. Chapter three - the first in a trilogy which seeks to evaluate the different conceptualisations of pornography in the United States, Canada and South Africa - critically reflects on the obscenity jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the United States of America as well as radical feminist campaigns in Minneapolis and Indianapolis to re-conceptualise pornography and its harm. Chapter 4 entails a critical reflection on the capacity of Canadian constitutional jurisprudence to address adult heterosexual pornography either as a patriarchal structure which impacts on women's interests in equality, dignity and physical integrity or as a mode of expression which incites gender hatred. Chapter 5 traces the history of South African censorship law as prelude to a critical discussion of the current Films and Publications Act as well as the first decision of the South African Constitutional Court on the possible human rights implications of sexually explicit material. The chapter concludes with proposals for a suitable conception of the (constitutional) harm as well as a legal definition of adult heterosexual pornography for South African law. The constitutional implications of the proposed conceptions of pornography and harm are evaluated in Chapter 6 with specific reference to sections 9, 10 and 12 as well as subsection 16(2)( c) of the South African Constitution. Chapter 7 concludes the present study with some thoughts on the suitability of censorship as legal and political strategy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die koms van 'n konstitusionele demokrasie in Suid-Afrika ná die eerste nie-rassige demokratiese verkiesings in 1994 en die daaropvolgende aanname van 'n finale grondwet in 1996 het' n regsorde wat op "demokratiese waardes, maatskaplike geregtigheid en basiese menseregte" gegrond is, ingelei. Die aanvang van 'n konstitusionele demokrasie in Suid-Afrika moedig inderwaarheid 'n evaluering van die moontlike grondwetlike gevolge van pornografie, spesifiek binne 'n diskoers oor vroue se belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid en fisiese integriteit, aan. Onder die sterk invloed van die leerstelling van die Amerikaanse Eerste Amendement word pornografie gedefinieer (en beskerm binne die "markplein van idees") as 'n spesifieke vorm van uitdrukking wat gevolglik meebring dat pornografie noodwendig as deel van 'n oop, vrye en demokratiese gemeenskap beskou word. Binne hierdie dogmatiese konteks het die erkenning en . verskansing van vryheid van uitdrukking pornografie stewig op sowel die Suid-Afrikaanse grondwetlike as politieke agendas geplaas. Die oogmerk van hierdie studie is om spesifieke aspekte rondom die debat oor volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie (naamlik, pornografie geproduseer vir en gerig op die manlike heteroseksuele mark) aan te spreek ten einde die grondwetlikheid daarvan te bepaal. Hierdie proefskrif is egter nie bedoel as 'n diskoers oor pornografie as moontlike bedreiging vir die morele stoffasie van die gemeenskap nie, maar eerder oor pornografie as 'n 'n inbreukmaking op vroue se spesifieke grondwetlike belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid asook sekerheid in en beheer oor hulle liggame. Gevolglik dien Hoofstuk 2 om 'n gepaste teoretiese raamwerk daar te stel wat oor die vermoë beskik om 'n vroue-gesentreerde analise van volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie binne die raamwerk van die Handves van Menseregte in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet aan te help. Daarom word die meriete van die liberale feminisme en die radikale feministiese denke krities oorweeg teenoor die spesifieke (grondwetlike en dogmatiese) uitdagings wat deur 'n studie van hierdie aard gestel word. Hoofstuk 3 - die eerste in 'n trilogie wat ten doel het om die verskillende opvattings oor pornografie in die Verenigde State, Kanada en Suid-Afrika te ondersoek - bevat 'n kritiese oorweging van die Amerikaanse Hooggeregshofse beskouing van obseniteit asook die radikaal feministies-geïnspireerde veldtogte in Minneapolis en Indianapolis wat ten doel gehad het om pornografie en sy nadeel te herkonseptualiseer. Hoofstuk 4 behels 'n kritiese oorweging van die vermoë van die Kanadese grondwetlike reg om volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie Of as 'n patriargale struktuur wat 'n impak op vroue se belange in gelykheid, menswaardigheid en fisiese integriteit het Of as 'n vorm van uitdrukking wat geslagshaat aanwakker, aan te spreek. Hoofstuk 5 speur die geskiedenis van sensuur in Suid-Afrika na as inleiding tot 'n kritiese bespreking van die huidige Wet op Films en Publikasies asook die eerste beslissing van die Suid- Afrikaanse Grondwetlike Hof oor die menseregte-implikasies van seksueel eksplisiete materiaal. Die hoofstuk sluit afmet voorstelle vir 'n gepaste begrip van sowel die (grondwetlike)nadeel as 'n regsdefinisie van volwasse heteroseksuele pornografie vir die Suid-Afrikaanse reg. Die grondwetlike implikasies van die voorgestelde begrippe van pornografie en gepaardgaande nadeel word in Hoofstuk 6 opgeweeg met besondere verwysing na artikels 9, 10 en 12 asook subartikeI16(2)(c) van die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet. Hoofstuk 7 sluit die onderhawige studie af met enkele gedagtes oor sensuur as gepasde regs- en politiese strategie.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Women’s rights to property have still not been recognised in many countries as a basic individual right. Furthermore, women have often been excluded in the policies that govern land reform, that is, the economic restructuring programmes and land distribution policies. It is important to understand how women's rights in and access to land are being addressed, and the ways in which institutional reforms have benefited or disadvantaged women, given the importance of women as agricultural producers in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the commitment to gender equality adopted by many governments. The determination of the criteria used to target land beneficiaries for land reform in South Africa is largely unclear and undocumented. Furthermore, there is a limited focus in existing literature on the actual impact of land reform on its beneficiaries. Land reform in South Africa is only benefiting a small proportion of the population. The findings of this research also indicate that there is a conscious attempt by the state to address racial injustices of Apartheid, with the majority of recipients of land in South Africa being African/black, and Coloureds following closely. Furthermore, the beneficiaries of land appear to be largely uneducated and unmarried. The research indicates that women in South Africa have equal, if not more opportunity than men to gain access to land through land reform. However, it does appear that males are heading most of the households with access to land through land reform and women in male-headed households have more access to land through land reform than those in female-headed households. This suggests that unmarried women are still at a disadvantage for accessing land through land reform, which further validates the findings of existing literature that customary practices may still be prevalent in South Africa and women’s primary access to land is through marriage. The findings of the research also indicate that generally people with access to land through land reform are more likely to have better household welfare than those with no access to land through land reform. Therefore, with only 2.5 per cent of the population accessing land, there is a significant limitation on the number of households whose welfare can be improved by land reform. The results also indicate that males without access to land have better household welfare than females without access to land therefore implying that women are more vulnerable without land access and they are more likely to face poverty when they are not afforded the opportunity to access land through land reform. Furthermore, it appears that females with access to land have better household welfare than males with access to land, which implies that females are an essential contributor to household welfare, more so than their male counter parts. Similar to existing literature, these findings further validate the need for the state to address gender inequality in land reform and ensure that women are included in the process. Nevertheless, with the majority of the land beneficiaries in this research being female, household welfare in South Africa is expected to improve in the future due to land reform.

<p>It is within the context of the persistent feminisation of the HIV and AIDS pandemic that this study, based on the normative provisions of the African Women's Protocol, focused on gender, sex and sexuality in the context of HIV and AIDS. The regime of the African Women's Protocol embodies a framework that can be utilised to combat HIV/AIDS amongst women in Africa by addressing some of the most important issues that need to be tackled if women are to live through this epidemic.</p>

The issue of women's reproductive rights has become an international concern in the recent decade. Ongoing debates on women's reproductive rights in world conferences and conventions have heightened the need for empirical research and theoretical explanations of women's reproductive rights Nevertheless, very few sociological studies have treated women's reproductive rights as a dependent variable. This study examines the effects of family planning programs and the processes of modernization on women's reproductive rights. Several facets of modernization; processes of socioeconomic development, secularization, women's education, and levels of gender equality are considered. The study involves 101 countries identified by the World Bank (1994) as developing countries. It is argued, on the one hand, that variations in women's reproductive rights in developing nations may be explained by the social changes brought about by modernization processes. On other hand, the universality of the anti-natalistic population policies in developing countries in the late 20th century provides a strong state control over fertility rate, which may contribute to the attainment of women's reproductive rights. Using linear structural equation analysis, the study finds that fertility decline due to family planning programs leads to the achievement of women's reproductive rights. The empirical findings support the hypothesis that socioeconomic development has a positive effect on women's education, and that there is no statistically significant relationship between modernization and gender equality. The results of the study, meanwhile, indicate that, in developing societies, women's education is negatively related to women's reproductive rights. The study suggests: first, family planning programs as a social policy in developing countries influence fertility decline, and enhance women's reproductive rights; second, gender equality in society is an important factor that increases the level of reproductive rights for women in developing countries; and finally, the finding that women's education reduces the attainment of reproductive rights may imply the need to develop valid scales for measuring reproductive rights. The findings of this study contribute toward the development of a structural model of reproductive rights.

"It is therefore the purpose of this paper to make a thorough study and analysis of the statutes and court decisions with a view to obtaining information relative to the statutes that could or might be affected by passage of an equal rights amendment...Any study of marital laws is a complicated undertaking, and this survey is only a beginning. The main objective is to emphasize and illustrate the need for granting equal rights to women in Texas. "-- leaf 3.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

The master thesis "Czech women on their way to emancipation" is dealing with the changes of Czech society which took place during the 19th and 20th century and which are influencing the contemporary Czech society until today. This thesis is putting contemporary gender - topics in connection with political background, equal possibilities of men and women in the public and in the private sphere of life. The work is dealing with three main topics. The first is speaking about the historical development and traditional opinions on the role of women and men. The second topic is focussed on the period of the Czechoslovak socialist state and the third part is focussed on the Czech society of today.

M.A. / Despite constitutional and legislative measures to promote gender equality, gender inequality pervades the South African political, social and economic sectors. It is imperative that government uses gender sensitive policy instruments to reverse these imbalances. Gender expenditure analyses on national budget votes reveal a perpetuation of gender inequality. This municipal study assesses Johannesburg’s water budget process using an analytical framework of three criteria: representation; participation and benefit accrued to women. It determines that administrative representation of women in Johannesburg Water is nominal, the drafting of the budget remains patriarchal and representation of gender concerns for water provision in the consultation phase is not evident. The participation of women in the consultation and approval phases cannot be quantified. Women benefit minimally as employees and as entrepreneurs. This study determines that there is a potentially significant gendered impact of Johannesburg’s water budget, which motivates for this policy instrument to be gender sensitive. / Mr. H. Robertson Prof. Y. Sadie