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Triomf explores the distortion of the national Afrikaner identity as a result of apartheid. This dissertation aims to demonstrate how van Niekerk deconstructs the Afrikaner through myths, stories, symbols, intertextuality and Derridean deconstruction. The Benades represent the Afrikaner on three levels: the personal, the national and the primordial. Since the Benades are primordial, Van Niekerk is able to use the archetypes of Jung’s collective unconscious to deconstruct the archetypal mythological structures Afrikaner nationalists used to develop identity and unity. The archetypes deconstructed are Spirit, the Great Mother, Re-birth, the Trickster, the Physical Hearth and the Sacred Fire. Afrikaner myths deconstructed include the Great Trek, the family, the patriarch, the matriarch, the future of a white Afrikaner nation and the binding character of Afrikaans as white national language. Van Niekerk undermines the plaasroman of the 1920s and 1930s, as the Afrikaner’s national identity was constituted and deconstructed in literature. / English / M.A. (English)

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / This study will examine the position of traditional African women as explored in the fictions, The Joys of Motherhood (Buchi Emecheta) and So Long a Letter (Mariama Bâ). It will probe into the depiction of a traditional African woman in the selected texts under thematic issues which will assist us in understanding how Emacheta and Ba perceive issues that directly impact the lives of women, even today. The issues include patriarchy, marriage, motherhood and childbearing, sex and gender, objectification of women, and the role of the chief wife. Both Emecheta and Bâ use communal voices that blend cultural incidents with fiction to demonstrate the subordinate role played by women in traditional African societies that are characterised by patriarchal practices and suppression of women. Both Emecheta and Bȃ demonstrate cultural and religious stereotypes towards African women. This study will apply the African womanism lens as a theoretical framework to underpin it. The study will attempt to reveal that, from the selected texts, contemporary African women writers oppose the injustice inflicted upon them through marriage or gender (sex) stereotypes. The selected fictions help the audience understand the plight of some African women.

It is the thesis of this paper that the Church possesses traits which are characteristic of the human personality; therefore, her spiritual movement can be understood and dealth with through the insights of te Oedipus Complex Theory initially described by Sigmund Freud in his discussion of personality development, and greatly elaborated upon by Erich Fromm in his book, "The Forgotten Language".

Although there is little official data, early girls’ marriage before the age of 18 appears to have increased in Tajikistan over recent years, due to the limited socio-economic opportunities. This study aimed to explore the main causes behind the fall in the age of marriage for girls. As Tajikistan is based on patriarchal values, where family is the core of decision-making, the study looks into the family dynamics and interrelationships to analyse the driving forces behind the decision to arrange marriage for the girls at an earlier age. Using triangulated methods of qualitative data collection, such as interviews, focus group discussions and case studies, the study was conducted in urban, semi rural/semi urban and rural areas of Tajikistan. The findings confirm that early marriage exists in Tajikistan. Although marriage has always been important for Tajiks, recently early age of marriage has been more prioritized. The young girls today leave school when they reach puberty, limit their socialization with their friends outside of the house and rigorously learn skills that qualify them as a ‘desirable’ kelin [bride] to increase their chances of getting a marriage proposal within what is a short marriage window. At the same time, the study argues that the family decision to pursue an early age of marriage for daughters is not because of the low status of the women as it has been suggested in some earlier research. Instead, the study argues that marriage is a strategy to provide girls with what is often the only opportunity of an economically and socially secure future in the country under the current socio-economic and political context. Relations within the families are more complicated than dominant-subordinate as previously portrayed but are based on respect, love and responsibility towards each other. This ‘connectivity’ assists in shaping the girls as potent Tajik women ready for their future roles of mothers and wives. The young girls, as this study suggests, are usually not completely powerless either, as they exercise the limited agency provided by the patriarchal system and actively engage in negotiating their interests. Thus, the study aimed to (1) draw attention to the issue of early marriage among girls in Tajikistan and (2) to contribute to the scholarly discussion on early marriage and on gender and family dynamics in Tajikistan. Based on the findings, it is recommended that more research needs to be conducted to discuss the phenomenon of early girls’ marriage in Tajikistan. Further, legal, political and social changes are necessary to provide a safety net for women married at an early age but divorced or abandoned later. Although bringing changes to the marriage values might be a challenging task, it is hoped that this research and others similar to this one will demonstrate the importance of the issue and will result in appropriate attention and an effective policy response.

From the end of the 18th century, the view that youth had a political role to play spread among students in Europe. This view was directly opposed to the paternalistic authoritarian regimes governing the old universities like that at Uppsala, which had been organised as patriarchal corporations for some two hundred years. The thesis deals with the attempts of Uppsala students, despite their lack of formal power, to influence society and their own university. It focuses on the political culture manifested by the students, i.e., the forms that their political action took and the values that were involved. With a view to broadening the perception of student politics, the thesis examines student political action in relation to the prevailing distribution of power and the social settings within the university. The phenomenon of students participating in politics challanged the traditional patriarchal view of the social role appropriate for the young. Overt student politics were pursued principally from the base provided by the new student societies. The thesis includes a prosopographical study of the students involved in such societies. The overt opposition and organisational endeavours were, however, just the tip of the student political iceberg. Within the patriarchy, students were obliged to resort to covert politics, such as creating a commotion outside professors’ homes, failure to perform acts of courtesy and other anonymous or ambiguous actions. The mid 19th century saw a greater participation of students in open political interaction. At the same time, the need to comment and explain their political actions in the press inevitably deprived students of opportunities for surreptitious political action, and the phenomenon of covert student politics petered out. The conflict between the old university and the new student organisations was thus reflected in the relation between open and covert student politics, and shaped the development of these two spheres of activity.

Thesis (DTh (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The patriarchal and hetero-normative structures in the church have the potential to hurt and alienate people. According to the population census of 2001, there has been a decrease in the number of people belonging to churches within the white and colored church groups in South Africa. In the Independent African churches the numbers are growing. These churches can be described as conservative in their understanding of gender issues and sexual diversity (Jenkins 2002).The church today exists in a liminal phase as a result of globalization and availability of information, which create an opportunity for reformation. According to Castells (2004) the development of a contra-culture identity is the most consequential way of bringing about change in society, because it does not simply offer resistance against oppressive structures, but also question the ideologies at the heart of dominating structures. Throughout the ages, church structures were developed with reference to the patriarchal family, of which examples can be found in the letters to Timothy and Titus. Patriarchy is characterized by the institutionally sanctioned authority of men over women and their children. The primary relationships within the household influence all subsequent relationships – also in the church. This conjecture defines the opportunity for the household to be a key to transformation. To form an image of the household of God – which can be viewed as ideal for believers – the life and teachings of Jesus as well as the slavery-images in the New Testament, should be explored. To interpret this image for the church, the book of James is used, because James was writing to a community of believers. This community is not viewed as having been made up out of family members all familiar with their established positions, but as a family of God, cared for within households. An interwoven community such as this corresponds with the eco-feministic understanding of the interdependence of all things. The theme of friendship with God is dominant in the book of James. Within friendship relationships, people exist as equal partners – even in the household. Nobody is requested to relinquish ownership of their bodies – even in marriage. To every person room for individualization is allowed – even to children, by parents. Hospitality as central value of friendship invites the stranger to enter into joyful togetherness and mutual provision of care. Friendship with God brings completion, and liberates people from envy and competitive actions. People who have been made whole, can live in simplicity and in this way leave room for all people to have enough to satisfy their needs, as well as take responsibility for God’s recreation. The key to living in friendship relationships, is the release of awarded power. This new understanding of relationships within the church and household, can be established through the understanding of God as Mother, Lover and Friend, through “unmaking” and “merrymaking”. As the interpretation of the household as healing and liberating space, described in the letter of James, find substance in the reality of ministry, it will offer for all believers, but in particular for the oppressed and marginalized ones, a home for their faith and a place of healing. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die handhawing van patriargale en heteronormatiewe denke binne die gemeenskap van gelowiges het die potensiaal om mense te verwond en van die kerk te vervreem. In Suid-Afrika kwyn die getalle van tradisioneel blanke en bruin kerkgroepe volgens die bevolkingsensus van 2001. Hierteenoor toon Onafhanklike Afrika-kerke groei. Die groeiende Afrika-kerke word deur Jenkins (2002) beskryf as konserwatief, veral ten opsigte van gender-vraagstukke en seksuele diversiteit. Die kerk bestaan vandag as gevolg van globalisasie en inligtingsmatigheid in ’n liminale fase wat ’n geleentheid bied tot reformasie. Volgens Castells (2004) is die ontwikkeling van ’n kontra-kultuur identiteit die mees sinvolle wyse om verandering in die samelewing teweeg te bring, omdat dit nie bloot weerstand bied teen onderdrukkende strukture nie, maar die ideologie agter die heersende strukture bevra. Kerklike strukture is deur die eeue aan die hand van die patriargale gesin ontwikkel, waarvan voorbeelde in onder andere Timoteus en Titus gevind kan word. Patriargie word gekenmerk deur die institusioneel bekragtigde outoriteit van mans oor vroue en hul kinders. Die primêre verhoudings in die huishouding beïnvloed alle latere verhoudings – ook in die kerk. Hierdie gegewe maak dat die huishouding ’n sleutel tot transformasie kan wees. Om ’n beeld te vorm van die huishouding van God – wat as ideaal vir gelowiges kan dien – word daar na die leer en lewe van Jesus en die slawe-beeld in die Nuwe Testament gekyk. Om hierdie beeld vir die kerk te kan vertolk, is van die boek Jakobus gebruik gemaak. Die gemeenskap in Jakobus word nie beskou as opgebou uit gesinseenhede waar elkeen sy of haar plek ken nie, maar as familie van God wat in huishoudings versorg word. Die tema van vriendskap met God kom spesifiek op die voorgrond in Jakobus. Alhoewel eerste-eeuse vriendskapsverhoudings binne die konteks van weldoenerskap verstaan moet word, bied Jakobus ’n verdere perspektief naamlik dat mense as volwaardige vennote binne die verhoudinge verstaan kan word – ook in die huishouding! Niemand gee seggenskap op hul liggame op nie – ook in die huwelik. Aan elke mens word ruimte gegun om te individualiseer - ook aan kinders deur ouers. Gasvryheid as sentrale waarde van vriendskap nooi die vreemdeling in tot ’n vreugdevolle saamwees en wedersydse versorging. Vriendskap met God bring voltooidheid en bevry mense van afguns en kompeterende optrede. Heel mense kan in eenvoud leef en op hierdie wyse ruimte laat vir alle mense om genoeg te hê om van te leef en medeverantwoordelikheid vir God se herskepping te kan neem. Die sleutel tot die uitleef van vriendskapsverhoudings is die afstaan van toegekende mag. Hierdie nuwe verstaan van verhoudings binne die kerk en huishouding kan deur die verstaan van God as Moeder, Geliefde en Vriend deur ontdaning en viering gevestig word. As hierdie spesifieke interpretasie van Jakobus oor die huishouding van God as helende en bevrydende ruimte, in ’n bedieningspraktyk gestalte kan vind, sal dit vir alle gelowiges, maar veral die onderdruktes en gemarginaliseerdes in die samelewing, ’n geloofstuiste en herstelruimte bied.

Through a case study of female traditional healers who practice same sex relationships, this study attempts to provide some reasons for the opposition to same sex-relationships in Africa. The main question that the study grapples with is: If traditional healers practice same sex relationships, why does the Zulu community (and African communities in general) insist that same sex relationships are “un-African?” Given that homosexuality has been labeled as “un-African” and “un-cultural”, how does one explain the existence of homosexual relationships amongst Zulu sangomas, who are considered the custodians of culture? The study draws on the experiences of ten female traditional healers from Kwa-Ngcolosi and Inanda. The data was produced through workshops, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Queer theory and African feminist cultural hermeneutics were the lenses through which the data was analyzed. The findings show that beliefs in procreation as a means for the continual survival of the ancestors in the community and beliefs in the supremacy of the male in society as demonstrated in the killing of lesbians are the major reasons for the rejection of same sex relationships in African societies. The study concludes that within the traditional belief systems of the ancestors, women do have authority and can choose alternative relationships. Furthermore, in the sphere of traditional healing, recognition is given to different sexualities. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

The dissertation rests firstly on the author's previously published work (German, 1989; German, 2007; German, 2013) which attempted to analyse the position of women in British society in terms of their relationship to class, work and oppression; and secondly on original research in the form of interviews with a number of Second Wave and Third Wave feminists, which aimed to elicit their responses to a variety of questions in relation to class, women's role at work, and feminist activism. The aim is to contrast the expectations and influences of the different generations of feminists in order to understand what has motivated them and what issues continued to be important for them. The research investigates differences between the two groups of women, considering the extent to which this reflects the different economic and social circumstances in which they were shaped politically. It argues that there is a strong ideological commitment to women's equality across the different age groups, itself based on the inability of successive generations to achieve full equality, but that there are considerable differences of approach to activism and campaigning priorities, as well as to some theoretical questions. It considers the extent to which the Third Wave reflects a fragmentation from Second Wave approaches. It argues that the continued centrality of class in understanding women's oppression and other forms of oppression is related to the discrepancy between the expectations of oppressed groups for equality and capitalism's structural inability to deliver such equality.