Feminist theories emerged out of the revolutionary enthusiasm that swept the Western world during the late eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe. Based on the assumption that all persons have "inalienable or natural" rights upon which governments may not intrude, feminists in Europe and America advocated that equal rights should be extended to women who up to this point were not considered legal beings separate and deserving of these rights. Most African writers and feminists have argued that since most of the theories of feminist jurisprudence have their roots in this Euro-centric context, they cannot be applicable to African women and should therefore be discarded. The thesis acknowledges that to a certain extent their assertions are true. For years feminist jurisprudence has been restricted to an academic engagement with the law failing to take into account the practices and customs of different communities. It has largely been the realm of the middle class bourgeois white female and therefore has been inaccessible to the African woman. The thesis aims, however, to prove that these theories of feminist jurisprudence although Euro-centric have a place in the understanding and advancement of African women's rights in South Africa. In Chapter One the writer traces the history of South African women's rights and the laws that affect African women. Chapter Two presents the emergence of feminist theories and categories of feminism. The writer then seeks to identify the misunderstandings and tensions that exist between the two. The narrow conception of Euro-centric feminism has been that its sole purpose has been the eradication of gender discrimination, however, for African women in South Africa they have had to deal with a multiplicity of oppressions that include but are not restricted to gender, race, economic and social disempowerment. This is dealt with in Chapter Three. It is the opinion of the writer that despite these differences feminism does play a critical role in the advancement of women's rights in South Africa. Taking the South African governments commitment to the advancement of universal rights, the writer is of the opinion that African women can look to the example set by Western feminists, and broaden these theories to suit and be adaptable to the South African context. The answer is not to totally discard feminist theories but to extract commonalities that exist between African and European women, by so doing acknowledging that women's oppression is a global phenomenon. This is the focus of Chapter Four. To avoid making this work a mere academic endeavour, the writer in Chapter Five also aims, through interviews, to include the voices of African women and to indicate areas that still need attention from both the lawmakers and women's rights movements (Feminists). Finally, the writer aims to present a way forward, one that is not merely formal but also substantively attainable.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the promotion of gender equity in the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). This investigation originated against the phenomenon that women are continuously faced with barriers to progress in the workplace. In an endeavour to find a meaningful solution to the problem, it was necessary to assess the degree of transformational change in the workplace; to ascertain what these barriers are; and how they can be overcome. The study commenced with an overview of the stance of women in the Republic of South Africa, especially their struggle to find a platform from where their voice could be heard. In order to achieve the research objectives, an in-depth literature study was undertaken. A survey was also conducted to examine the perceptions of gender equity in the ADM. The required data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with female officials in senior managerial positions. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that emanate from the literature review and qualitative study.

Few would deny that the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) has achieved a lot in its quest to improve the pressing social challenges (such as poverty; illiteracy; HIV/AIDS; crime prevalence; preventable diseases, and high levels unemployment). It must be firmly said that these social ills generally affect everyone – particularly the historically marginalised group in South Africa. However, there are also few who would deny that South African women (including the girl-child), as it is the case elsewhere in Africa suffer disproportionately that their male counterparts. Some have supported the view that gender discrimination is the main source of women’s disempowerment today. For instance, society has accepted consciously or otherwise that women are inferior to men and as such cannot take part both in public and private spheres of life. It is nevertheless not the object of this study to delve into to the complex and often misunderstood causes of women’s marginalisation in South Africa. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

South Africa has not escaped the rising prevalence and severe impact of HIV/AIDS in relation women. From an economic and social vantage point, the HIV/AIDS epidemic hits women the hardest, with underprivileged black women the most susceptible to the virus. The theoretical framework of this research focuses on the intersection between HIV/AIDS, gender inequality and gender violence, and more specifically, on certain cultural practices and customs that contribute towards and exacerbate women’s subordination and inequality, which in turn, increase women’s exposure to become infected with HIV. Relevant to this focus is inevitably an investigation of perceived threats to specific fundamental human rights as a result of some entrenched practices that continue to reinforce women’s subordinate position in society, aggravated by the high incidence of gender violence. / Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law / LL.M.

The title of this thesis is: The Customary Law of Intestate Succession. The African customary law relating to intestate succession has always been known to discriminate against women. The thesis therefore focuses on the customary law of intestate succession in the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland and the inroads they have made in improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of African customary law. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the topic of the research. It highlights the organisation of the intended research which comprises: a statement of the problem, the legal framework, research methodology and a summary of the chapter. Chapter 2 defines the general terms and concepts used in the customary law of intestate succession. This facilitates an understanding of the general principles comprising the body of law known as the customary law of intestate succession and lays the foundation for the country specific issues that are investigated in the following chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the recognition, application and development of the customary law of intestate succession in the country of South Africa. Chapter 4 considers the rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession in the West African country of Ghana. Chapter 5 explains the current rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession prevailing in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Finally, chapter 6 brings the thesis to a meaningful end, by criticizing the approaches adopted by the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland in improving the rights of women as far as the customary law of intestate succession is concerned. The chapter also presents various recommendations for improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of the law. / Public, Constitutional, & International / LL.D.

The aim of the study was to investigate the implications of the intersectionality of gender, race and class on the career progress of women in corporate South Africa and Zimbabwe in order to create a theoretical framework of the factors that can influence women career experiences. The research problem statement was derived from the continued underrepresentation of women in leadership positions shown in global annual reports despite undisputed research on the necessity for gender diversity in management teams. The key study objective was to investigate how the intersections of gender, race and class have contributed to career experiences of women in senior and executive leadership positions in corporate South Africa and Zimbabwe. The detailed objectives included: (i) Exploring the impact of authorisation processes and dynamics on the career journeys of women (i.e., study participants), (ii) Understanding the internal influences (meaning the woman herself, her confidence, self-esteem, interpersonal skills etc.) and their impact on the career journeys of women, (iii) Exploring the systemic influences and their impact on or contribution to the career journeys of women and, (iv) Creating a holistic theoretical framework that explores the career “twists and turns” that women have to navigate and proposes how they can do so, thus enabling the creation of retention strategies for women in corporates. The research questions formulated to unpack the research problem and study objectives were as follows: (i) How do gender, race and class simultaneously impact the experiences and career progression of women? (ii) How do organisations authorise or fail to authorise women in leadership positions? (iii) How do personal and internal factors influence the career journeys of women leaders? and lastly (iv) How do systemic and/or organisational factors impact the career experiences of women leaders? Methodology: Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews from a total of 18 participants (i.e., 12 South African and 6 Zimbabwean women in positions ranging from junior manager to chief executive officer) selected using a combination of purposeful and snowballing sampling techniques. The main study findings showed that gender, race and class intersect on the career starting points of the working class African, Coloured and Indian women, and that race plays the bigger role in career progression in South Africa, while in Zimbabwe, gender is the bigger challenge. The study outcomes resulted in the development of a theoretical framework that women could use as a reference to navigate the workplace. The study limitations are that it focused only on three primary identities. The study will significantly contribute to a better understanding of the experiences of African women in management and could potentially advance the debate on race and gender transformation premised on lived experiences of women. It also confronts the issues of sexual harassment and intergenerational dynamics in the workplace. In addition, several recommendations are made for future research. / Business Management / D.B.L.

South Africa has not escaped the rising prevalence and severe impact of HIV/AIDS in relation women. From an economic and social vantage point, the HIV/AIDS epidemic hits women the hardest, with underprivileged black women the most susceptible to the virus. The theoretical framework of this research focuses on the intersection between HIV/AIDS, gender inequality and gender violence, and more specifically, on certain cultural practices and customs that contribute towards and exacerbate women’s subordination and inequality, which in turn, increase women’s exposure to become infected with HIV. Relevant to this focus is inevitably an investigation of perceived threats to specific fundamental human rights as a result of some entrenched practices that continue to reinforce women’s subordinate position in society, aggravated by the high incidence of gender violence. / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LL.M.

This dissertation critically examines how traditional leaders use cultural laws to allocate land to women and to allow women to participate in land administration in communal areas. Given the government's commitment to gender equity in all spheres of life as stipulated in Section 9 (3) of the South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996), the dissertation examines whether related legislation and policy (such as CLARA and TLGFA) alone can guarantee equitable access to land for women and their participation in land administration structures in communal areas where patriarchy dominates. In essence, the study interrogates whether state intervention through formalizing laws that govern land matters do achieve gender equity while cultural laws still exist in communal areas. Based on the view that land in communal areas is held by the state and administered by traditional leaders who have historically discriminated against women, the dissertation employs a case study method to examine whether cultural laws are exercised when women apply for a piece of land at the three levels of traditional authority viz: village, sub-village and traditional council levels in the Matolweni village of the Nqadu Tribal Authority. Although women are often the de facto rights holders in rural areas as a result of male migration to urban areas, findings seem to indicate that it is difficult and/or sometimes impossible to translate paper laws into practice while cultural laws are still operating. For effective transformation to occur, the study recommends that unless a strong women's rural movement emerges, coupled with a socialist feminist position that advocates for a radical transformation of rural society to defeat the patriarchal norms and standards, traditional leaders will continue to discriminate against women in land issues.

M.Tech. (Architecture) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The title of this thesis is: The Customary Law of Intestate Succession. The African customary law relating to intestate succession has always been known to discriminate against women. The thesis therefore focuses on the customary law of intestate succession in the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland and the inroads they have made in improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of African customary law. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the topic of the research. It highlights the organisation of the intended research which comprises: a statement of the problem, the legal framework, research methodology and a summary of the chapter. Chapter 2 defines the general terms and concepts used in the customary law of intestate succession. This facilitates an understanding of the general principles comprising the body of law known as the customary law of intestate succession and lays the foundation for the country specific issues that are investigated in the following chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the recognition, application and development of the customary law of intestate succession in the country of South Africa. Chapter 4 considers the rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession in the West African country of Ghana. Chapter 5 explains the current rules and laws of the customary law of intestate succession prevailing in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Finally, chapter 6 brings the thesis to a meaningful end, by criticizing the approaches adopted by the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland in improving the rights of women as far as the customary law of intestate succession is concerned. The chapter also presents various recommendations for improving the rights of women in this discriminatory field of the law. / Public, Constitutional, and International / LL. D.