In this study, “Women and Cooperatives”, the researcher was interested in finding out whether women cooperatives contributed towards development of women and poverty reduction in Sarah Baartman District Municipality between 2004 and 2014. The study was conducted with three cooperatives situated in Makana Local Municipality, Sarah Baartman District Municipality and Eastern Cape Province. The cooperatives studied focused on sewing, poultry and agriculture. The study was explorative in nature as it was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of women cooperatives in empowering women, the effectiveness of women cooperatives in reducing poverty and to make recommendations regarding what can be done to address the challenges identified in the study. The qualitative research method was applied when conducting this study. Eight respondents from each cooperative were willing to take part and this led to a total of twenty-four respondents who participated. The questions asked were based on the interview schedule developed by the researcher. The results of the study and the recommendations indicated that more commitment from the government is required and the following key aspects should be taken into account when considering a development program: Infrastructure, Availability of funding, Access to resources, Skills development, Provision of basic services.

This dissertation has attempted to investigate the involvement of women in rural areas ofthe Mbashe local municipality. This was investigated to find out if the government foodse curity programs in rural areas have been designed to address the issue of women empowerment in irrigated farming, how involved women are in terms of farm decision making and management. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic parameters, Irrigation and water use information, production information and market and marketing information. A total of 69 structured questionnaires were administered to identify gender roles in irrigated farming with special emphasis to the roles played by women in farm decision making and management in Ngxakaxha Administrative Area of Mbashe local municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Own food production has been found to be the main food acquisition strategy in rural areas; people involved in it farm for their own consumption and then sell the remaining produce. About 80 % of the farmers practise irrigated agriculture with or without the use of a formal irrigation system provided and managed by government departments. Descriptive statistics were generated using the Statistical Package for Social sciences (SPSS). Subsequently, the data were subjected to inferential analysis using the binomial logistic regression model. The perceptions influencing the predictor variable were defined and tested using the binomial logistic regression model. The statistically significant independent variables, at the level 5% significant level are as follows; area and the number of years in farming. At the 10% significant level; the total number of bags sold and the total amount received (revenue). Basically the area is negatively correlated with irrigation and own production in rural areas. The household head is the one that determines household own production. The number of years involvement in farming determine their experience in farming and the amount of yield he / she will get. Major constraints to sustainable irrigation, as revealed by the analysis, were lack of funding for the projects in terms of an rrigation system, lack of a source of water, lack of new information and workshops. Women were found to be fully involved in irrigated farming nowadays, but training is needed for both men and women in rural areas for their production and irrigation to be sustainable over time. It has been concluded that there are programmes which have been designed and are driven by the women and a number of these programmes are also addressing the issues of gender equality in rural areas.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigated the issues that rural smallholder women face in accessing markets in developing countries. Market access for rural smallholder farmers is increasingly being promoted as a means towards catalysing sustainable rural development. However, without addressing the gender specific issues that rural smallholder women farmers face in accessing markets, market access as a strategy towards sustainable rural development may fail to achieve its ends. This thesis gathered evidence from a group of smallholder women farmers in Chirumanzu, Zimbabwe, who are part of a market access project run by Oxfam, in order to highlight the issues that they face in accessing markets for their produce. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. First, a literature review was conducted to assess the issues that smallholder rural women farmers in developing countries face in accessing markets and how the issues differ to those faced by male smallholder farmers. A thematic assessment of the issues was conducted, beginning with the production for market through to the actual market engagement. Secondly, primary data was collected in Chirumanzu, from rural smallholder women farmers who are participating in a market access project being facilitated by Oxfam. Data was collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and document review. Five focus group discussions were held with a total of 40 participants in August 2011. Some of the key findings were that rural smallholder women farmers face challenges in terms of meeting the labour demanded for market production, accessing market information and having to contend with high transport costs. The data was then compared with the points raised in the literature review. The comparison showed that most of the key issues raised in the Chirumanzu case study were similar to those identified in the literature review. The study came to the conclusion that rural smallholder women farmers face different issues and more challenges in accessing markets compared to male farmers. Market access initiatives that do not recognise and address the gender specific challenges that women smallholder farmers face may therefore not be catalysts for sustainable rural development. Therefore recommendations are that market access initiatives should go beyond facilitating access to markets to address the structural social, economic and cultural issues that present special challenges and constraints to women smallholder farmers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis het ondersoek ingestel na die kwessies waarvoor landelike vrouekleinboere in ontwikkelende lande te staan kom om toegang tot markte te verkry. Marktoegang vir landelike kleinboere word toenemend aangemoedig as ’n manier om volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling teweeg te bring. Indien die geslagspesifieke kwessies van marktoegang waarmee landelike vrouekleinboere te kampe het egter nié hanteer word nie, kan marktoegang as strategie vir volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling in gebreke bly om sy doel te bereik. Hierdie tesis het bewyse ingesamel van ’n groep vrouekleinboere in Chirumanzu, Zimbabwe, wat deel is van ’n marktoegangsprojek deur Oxfam, ten einde die soeklig te werp op die uitdagings wat hulle ervaar om marktoegang vir hul produkte te bekom. Die studie het van primêre sowel as sekondêre data gebruik gemaak. Eerstens is ’n literatuuroorsig onderneem om te verken watter probleme landelike vrouekleinboere in ontwikkelende lande ondervind om marktoegang te verkry, en hoe dit verskil van die uitdagings waarvoor hul manlike eweknieë te staan kom. Die kwessies is tematies beoordeel en het gestrek van markgerigte produksie tot en met werklike markskakeling. Tweedens is primêre data ingesamel onder landelike vrouekleinboere in Chirumanzu wat aan ’n marktoegangsprojek deur Oxfam deelneem. Data is deur middel van fokusgroepbesprekings, onderhoude met sleutelinformante sowel as ’n dokumentoorsig bekom. Vyf fokusgroepbesprekings is in Augustus 2011 met altesaam 40 deelnemers gehou. Van die belangrikste bevindinge was dat landelike vrouekleinboere bepaald uitdagings ervaar wat betref die vereiste arbeid vir markgerigte produksie, toegang tot markinligting sowel as hoë vervoerkoste. Daarná is die data met die hoofpunte uit die literatuuroorsig vergelyk. Die vergelyking toon dat die meeste van die kernbevindinge in die Chirumanzu-gevallestudie met die bevindinge in die literatuuroorsig ooreenstem. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat landelike vrouekleinboere voor andersoortige kwessies en meer uitdagings as hul manlike eweknieë te staan kom ten einde marktoegang te verkry. Marktoegangsinisiatiewe wat nié hierdie geslagspesifieke uitdagings van vrouekleinboere erken en hanteer nie, kan dus in gebreke bly om waarlik volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling teweeg te bring. Daarom beveel die studie aan dat marktoegangsinisiatiewe oor méér as die blote fasilitering van marktoegang handel, en ook aandag skenk aan die strukturele maatskaplike, ekonomiese en kulturele kwessies wat besondere uitdagings en beperkings vir vrouekleinboere inhou

This thesis examines the collective labour and resources utilized by farm women within the context of the farm women’s neighbourhood club in rural communities in twentieth century Southern Alberta. The ethnographic research explores the historic, cultural and political foundations of women’s labour on farms and in formal and informal farm organizations through interviews conducted with former members of two clubs that were actively involved in fundraising and philanthropic projects in their rural communities for more than forty-five years. The critical perspective argues farm women in rural clubs responded to the patriarchal farm discourse that gendered their labour by using their reproductive skills and resources to build and maintain friendships, social networks and mutuality, and do good works that ensured the livelihood of their rural communities. / vi, 141 leaves ; 29 cm.

Zimbabwean rural women make significant contribution to agriculture and are the mainstay of the farm labour. Although women do the majority of agricultural work, men, for the most part continue to own the land, control women‟s labour and make agricultural decisions supported by patriarchal social systems. Thus, rural women faced difficulties than men in gaining access to land under Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Women‟s relationship with land is therefore through husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the objective of assessing the impact of land distribution programme with respect to its contribution to women‟s empowerment in the study area. The Gender and Development approach was employed to assess women access to land under the FTLRP. Such an approach to rural development can help in reducing the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development. The study used qualitative research methodology where semi-structured interviews gather data from women in Mutasa District. Findings indicate that there are a number of challenges and constraints that are experienced by rural women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which include male land registration, no access to credit, inadequate government input support, lack of government laws and policies awareness on women land rights, shortage of farm implements and irrigation water supply and lack of agriculture training. On the other hand, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve women access to land. To improve women access to land, in future, the study recommends that a serious intervention by the state should occur coupled with the revitalization of the programme and a paradigm shift towards an effective food security programme which emphasizes women and their important role in agriculture.

This study explores women’s access to land under the customary tenure system. It examines how the changes in land tenure, access and rights to land as a consequence of HIV/AIDS are affecting agricultural productivity, food security and poverty, with a specific focus on women who have lost their husbands to HIV/AIDS in Zvimba. Zvimba is a village community located in Zvimba District in the Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe. The study also discusses policy responses designed to cushion the impact of HIV/AIDS on local communities especially women living with HIV/AIDS. The study highlights the vulnerability of widows to land rights violations, mainly inflicted by relatives but sometimes by the wider community. The main form of abuse encountered included the use of abusive language, threats of evictions and at times, beatings. The legal route for seeking redress was rarely used. Fear of witchcraft, low educational levels and fear of causing conflict between children and their paternal relatives also led widows to abandon the fight for their rights. The study further reveals that widows are heavily exposed to dispossession of their land rights. HIV/AIDS has increased the vulnerability of widows and other women to threats and dispossession of their land and other property rights. Dispossession of arable fields was observed in the four wards. The dispossessions and threats to livelihoods were directly related to the HIV positive status of the widows. The findings from this study illustrate the predominant role that male members of the household or family have over land. Thus, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:33:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2484713 bytes, checksum: 7b3ef4bd8d8a0da46217db74977ce565 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-02 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This study aimed to examine the possibilities for empowerment of women living in the countryside through their participation in the spheres of political representation, such as rural workers unions. Examined whether participation in this sphere of political representation could be more important for the empowerment of the family farmers that indicators such as income, education and property ownership. To this end, we adopted a comparative perspective by listening to women unionized and non unionized, living both in the field or in the city. The research started from two assumptions: first, assumed that the participation of rural women in trade unions constituted a form of empowerment, able to promote a process of redefinition of their position in public spaces. The second, assumed that women's participation in a collective organization as the union of rural workers would be able to change gender relations within the family, leading to greater empowerment for women. The survey was conducted through a survey, with interviews, consisting of open and closed questions. 193 questionnaires were used: 97 women and 96 with non-unionized unionized. After the questionnaires took place in the data processing software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), subjecting them to the descriptive analysis and frequency. It was identified that unionized and non unionized achieve empowerment in different spheres. The first had indicators of empowerment in the public sphere while the latter showed indicators related to empowerment in the private sphere. / Essa pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar as possibilidades de empoderamento da mulher que vive no campo mediante a sua participação em esferas de representação política, tais como os sindicatos de trabalhadores rurais. Analisou-se se esta participação em esferas de representação política poderia ser mais determinante para o empoderamento das agricultoras familiares do que indicadores socioeconômicos como renda, escolaridade e propriedade de bens. Para tanto, adotou-se uma perspectiva comparativa ouvindo-se as mulheres sindicalizadas e as não sindicalizadas, que moravam tanto no campo quanto na cidade. A pesquisa partiu de duas hipóteses: a primeira, assumia que a participação das mulheres do meio rural em sindicatos de trabalhadores se constituía em uma forma de empoderamento, capaz de promover um processo de ressignificação da sua posição nos espaços públicos. Já a segunda, assumia que a participação das mulheres em uma organização coletiva como o sindicato dos trabalhadores rurais seria capaz de modificar as relações de gênero no âmbito familiar, gerando maior empoderamento para a mulher. A pesquisa foi realizada através de um survey, com entrevistas semiestruturadas, constando de questões abertas e fechadas. Foram aplicados 193 questionários: 97 com mulheres sindicalizadas e 96 com não sindicalizadas. Após a aplicação dos questionários realizou-se o processamento dos dados no software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), submetendo-os às análises descritivas e de frequência. Foi identificado que sindicalizadas e não sindicalizadas alcançam empoderamento em esferas diferentes. As primeiras apresentaram indicadores de empoderamento na esfera pública enquanto as segundas evidenciaram indicadores relacionados ao empoderamento em âmbito privado.

M.A. / In the former Republic of Venda, many people lost their jobs when industries that had mushroomed during the 1980's pulled out of the area. This happened just prior to the collapse of the Bantustan government. The most affected were women who, because of lack of education, could not get employment within and outside of the province. As a way of alleviating poverty, people resorted to selfemployment and community development projects. Different community development projects were started throughout Venda. Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) helped women who were unemployed by giving them training and help them to start projects such as sewing, knitting, chicken farming, creches and small-scale gardening. The training of people in different skills was done as a way of helping to equip communities so that they may start projects that they could manage, and that could become selfsustainable. The new South African government, through its Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), also assisted the poverty-stricken rural areas to start generating projects that would generate jobs for the people. These programmes involved the communities, the NGOs and the government through the RDP. Short and long term projects that were considered suitable by the members and community developers in the different areas were started. In order to maintain the smooth running and the co-ordination of all their projects, many communities instituted Community Development Committees (CDC). The CDC was an umbrella body within a community whose members had been elected by the community itself. The main task of the CDC was to help the different `Community Development Project' (CDP) committees responsible for the different projects within the community to obtain funds from different sources. They also helped to organise training for interested project members. In most cases, they worked hand in hand with the civic association committees and the traditional leaders, as well as the community members themselves. In this study, I have compared the activities of the community gardening projects within two rural communities. These two gardening projects are at Mangondi and Tshisahulu rural areas in Venda within the Northern Province. In their attempts to fight unemployment and poverty, these two communities (like many other communities within the Province and Venda in particular) embarked on the establishment of several community development projects, gardening being one of them. Most of the gardeners in these two projects are women. These women vary in age, education and family situations. The aim of this study was to establish the problems facing rural women in their attempts to free themselves from the grip of poverty and unemployment that continues to render them marginalised. The provision of government policy on the problem of women's rights on land ownership was also examined. The method of research used in the collection of data during field work was the interview method. This method was most preferred because it allowed me an opportunity to ask questions directly to these gardeners most of whom cannot read or write. A literature study was done on the role and activities of women in small gardening projects and the development process. It is my wish that this work be of assistance to the development workers and the policy-makers as well as the RDP officers of the Northern Province under which this area falls.

The study sought to investigate socio-cultural factors that contribute to the invisibility of women in agricultural activities at Khwezana village, Alice district. The present study was underpinned by a people’s –centered developmental approach paired with the feminist perspective based of ethnographic research methods, participant observation and basic individual interviews. The study mainly focused on female residents of the village, those who are active in agriculture and also those who are not practicing crop production. Rural women of South Africa have historically played a significant role by contributing in the sustainable livelihoods of the country as well as their communities. However, it has been revealed that there are factors that impede the participation of women in agricultural development. The study revealed that socio-cultural factors such as limited access to land, access to credit (due to tradition and culture circumstances), limited education and culture change in general are the major factors that significantly influence the low agricultural activity in the study village.

Exploration of the familial power women possess is growing as sociologists and anthropologists recognize the legitimacy of power internal to the family. The focus of this research was to uncover the forms of power German-Russian women held as they operated in the private sphere of the family. Attention also focused on the transference of women's power, and the family power dynamics unique to farm families. Members of three generations of one German-Russian farm family were interviewed. The results indicated German-Russian women operated from bases of power derived from their roles as farm wives who contributed to family sustenance, and as caretakers and kinkeepers, maintaining family cohesion. While male power is largely public and formal, women's reliance on the bonds of familial relationships across generations lend them greater power in that realm.