This thesis examines the presence of unhu, a process of becoming and remaining human through community ties, in Nervous Conditions and The Book of Not by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Dangarembga interrogates corrupt versions of community by creating positive examples of unhu that alternatively foster community building. Utilizing ecocritical, utopian, and postcolonial methodologies, this thesis postulates that these novels stress the importance of retaining a traditional concept like unhu while also acknowledging the need to adjust it over time to ensure its vitality. Both novels depict the creativity and resilience of unhu amid toxic surroundings.

Toni Morrison’s Paradise deconstructs the pathology of patriarchy and its oppressive nature, which limits language and knowledge. Patriarchal language silences female voice as they unknowingly adopt male definitions of gender and femininity. As long as the women are denied access to a language that allows them to define themselves, their existence is marked by a perennial state of self-destruction and stasis. As the women, specifically Consolata, begin to reject patriarchal limitations, they gain agency and with it an access to words and ideas that allow them to identify and articulate their own definition of self. Morrison’s Love illustrates the individual’s need to negotiate a language apart from the patriarchal narrative in order to heal. Love critiques the extreme and excessive ways in which people allow themselves to be taken over, not only by emotions, but also by social constructions of gender, race, and class. Morrison’s Love interrogates the same patriarchal narrative that renders characters ignorant of their own condition in Paradise; however, she approaches this critique from a different direction. While Paradise analyzes the damaging effects of an institutionalized patriarchal ideology adopted and enforced by an entire community by contrasting it with a community of women who reject this system of belief, Love illustrates the still pervasive vestiges of the organized patriarchal ideology apparent in Ruby. While the Convent women create a community that rejects racist, classist, institutionalized views of gender, the women in Love do not have a clearly defined group of oppressors to unite against. Theirs is an unconscious battle against fragmented notions of male control, which surfaces as fights against one another. The patriarch removed, Christine and Heed battle one another. Within a framework of Bhabha’s Third Space, Butler’s gender continuum, and bell hook’s analysis of patriarchy and female relationships, I argue that Morrison’s Paradise and Love demonstrate the crippling effects of racist, sexist, classist discourses and the need to access a new, liberatory language in order to heal the pathological wounds of patriarchy.

The Winter’s Tale (1611) and The Tempest (1611) are two of Shakespeare’s romances, written under the patronage of James I of England. While Shakespeare’s history plays have received extensive critical attention regarding their political commentaries, these have not. History raises political questions by nature; however, it is also important to look at the political dimensions of Shakespeare’s fictional rulers. The Winter’s Tale’s Leontes, and The Tempest’s Prospero, because of their invented natures, allow the playwright to explore contemporary political crises or questions with more freedom than history allows. Shakespeare’s political exploration of these men involves assessing their fitness to rule, comparing their transformations to texts concerning kingship, such James’s political treatises. These texts raise the possibility that Shakespeare is similarly investigating a model of the ideal king. Looking at the elements of power, knowledge, and patriarchy, my thesis focuses on what Shakespeare is suggesting about ideal rule and the ruler.

In this study, we interpret Isabel Allende's La casa de los espiritus as a microcosm that portrays a patriarchal society. Our purpose is to study the underlying principles that support this patriarchal order and examine the mechanisms that perpetuate it and repress the potential for change. The objective is then to analyze the main female characters since they constitute a subversive presence which is constantly challenging the patriarchal order and which is potentially capable of transforming it. Our goal is also to demonstrate that the writing of the female characters undermine patriarchal discourse. Our final objective is to examine the novel in the context of two "histories": the consecrated male history which is deconstructed here and the extra-official or alternative one that tradition silences and that is represented here by the writing of the female characters.

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">The aim of this research project was to seek a reinterpretation of the Christian motif of' bearing one's cross'. This motif has been widely criticized by feminist theologians as an instrument that exacerbates the oppression of women, since it encourages self-sacrifice and in this way legitimizes abusive relationships.</p>

Through quantitative and qualitative methods, this dissertation endeavors to explain why the rate of female labor force participation (FLFP) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the lowest in the world. Using panel data models for fifty-four developing countries over thirty-five years, the first essay suggests that the most likely factor affecting the rate of FLFP negatively in MENA is the institution of patriarchy. Being part of MENA, which is characterized primarily by the institution of patriarchy, is associated with lower than average FLFP. Oil income appears to have a positive effect on FLFP for countries outside MENA but no effect for countries inside MENA. Moreover, Muslim countries outside MENA do not have lower than average FLFP, while Muslim countries in MENA do. Using ten proxies for patriarchy, the second essay quantifies patriarchy in order to compare MENA countries with the rest of the world. Using principle component analysis (PCA), the study measures patriarchy for fifty-nine developing countries over thirty years. The technique creates three main components for patriarchy, namely; the gender gap in education and demography, children’s survival rate, and participation in public spheres. The results show that MENA has the highest level of patriarchy with regard to women’s participation in public spheres, education and demography compared with non MENA countries. The region’s culture and religion seem to be associated with high levels of patriarchy in MENA. The third essay focuses on women’s unpaid work as well as women’s participation in the informal sector in MENA. The results point to a severe undercounting of women’s work. Since women are expected to provide care and produce goods and services for their family at home, women do not participate in the formal labor force in large numbers. Because of the patriarchal culture, patriarchal family laws and labor laws, many women including educated women have to choose to work in the informal sector in MENA. Since women’s unpaid work and their participation in the informal sector are not recorded in labor statistics, the MENA region appears to have a lower rate of FLFP than it does in reality.

This study is constructed upon narratives of fourteen young women, who have been working in prostitution since they were street children in central Lima, and acknowledges their stigmatization in the Peruvian society, and how they challenge their socially constructed position. By combining narrative method with an intersectional analysis I have, through a multi-layered loupe, interpreted the young women’s interpretation of themselves and their social world. I will bring forward how these young women view their subordinate and stigmatized position through their narratives surrounding their bodies as shameful, culpable, sexual and fixed. This stigmatization is intersectional as it surrounds all parts of their lives and situatedness within the Peruvian society. This situatedness is complex, involving hierarchical structures that have been present in Peru since colonization and imperialism (cf. Wade 2009). In addition, I will bring forward how the young women engage in strategies to challenge this stigmatization by applying measures to increase their respectability (cf. Skeggs).

Given the continuing imbalances and current crisis with regard to gender-based violence in South Africa, the education of learners with regard to gender-based issues has been identified as critical. The South African school curriculum includes the compulsory subject, Life Orientation, which explicitly includes human rights issues such as gender equality. While official education policy documents promote gender equality in accordance with South Africa‟s Constitution and Bill of Rights, the teaching-learning thereof is not adequately articulated in classroom practice. This study seeks to explore this discrepancy. The study is located within a feminist paradigm, the common aim of which is to challenge gender inequalities in society and contribute to the transformation of the lives of women. Literature was reviewed and provides clarification of the concept of gender equality, and in particular, in the context of education and schooling, and subsequent classroom practices. Sociological theories underpinning the construction of identity, together with a psychological approach, namely the Dialogical Self Theory, complemented by the concept of „identity capital‟, construct the theoretical framework and the lens through which to analyse the data. In keeping with the feminist research paradigm, narrative inquiry is the preferred research methodology. Methods for data collection include self-administered questionnaires, written narratives and semi-structured, individual, face-to-face interviews. Nine female teachers of Life Orientation, teaching in six different schools, in four provinces in South Africa, voluntarily participated in this study. Employing narrative analysis, the crystallised data are presented in nine individual portraits. Each of these is analysed and discussed according to the concepts of the theoretical sociological and psychological framework. The data analysis gives insight into the selected teachers‟ understanding of gender equality, the position in general of women in their religious and cultural discourses, and their own positioning in their personal, social and professional domains. The findings of this study show that the strength of a teacher‟s „identity capital‟ informs her gender identity transformation. Increased extent and strength of „identity capital‟, enabling the articulation of gender identity transformation in every domain of their lives, has the potential of developing teachers‟ classroom practice into classroom praxis. Effective teaching-learning about gender equality has the potential of informing the development of their female and male learners and to be transformative for South African society. This study contributes to research on teacher identity, the development of their normative professionalism, and teaching-learning in classroom practice. The findings also inform a broader international SANPAD1 research project, (2010 – 2012). Recommendations for further research include issues relating to professional teacher education programmes, focusing on extending and strengthening teachers‟ „identity capital‟ as the core stimulus for the development of teachers‟ normative professionalism. / Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Development Innovation and Evaluation))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Given the continuing imbalances and current crisis with regard to gender-based violence in South Africa, the education of learners with regard to gender-based issues has been identified as critical. The South African school curriculum includes the compulsory subject, Life Orientation, which explicitly includes human rights issues such as gender equality. While official education policy documents promote gender equality in accordance with South Africa‟s Constitution and Bill of Rights, the teaching-learning thereof is not adequately articulated in classroom practice. This study seeks to explore this discrepancy. The study is located within a feminist paradigm, the common aim of which is to challenge gender inequalities in society and contribute to the transformation of the lives of women. Literature was reviewed and provides clarification of the concept of gender equality, and in particular, in the context of education and schooling, and subsequent classroom practices. Sociological theories underpinning the construction of identity, together with a psychological approach, namely the Dialogical Self Theory, complemented by the concept of „identity capital‟, construct the theoretical framework and the lens through which to analyse the data. In keeping with the feminist research paradigm, narrative inquiry is the preferred research methodology. Methods for data collection include self-administered questionnaires, written narratives and semi-structured, individual, face-to-face interviews. Nine female teachers of Life Orientation, teaching in six different schools, in four provinces in South Africa, voluntarily participated in this study. Employing narrative analysis, the crystallised data are presented in nine individual portraits. Each of these is analysed and discussed according to the concepts of the theoretical sociological and psychological framework. The data analysis gives insight into the selected teachers‟ understanding of gender equality, the position in general of women in their religious and cultural discourses, and their own positioning in their personal, social and professional domains. The findings of this study show that the strength of a teacher‟s „identity capital‟ informs her gender identity transformation. Increased extent and strength of „identity capital‟, enabling the articulation of gender identity transformation in every domain of their lives, has the potential of developing teachers‟ classroom practice into classroom praxis. Effective teaching-learning about gender equality has the potential of informing the development of their female and male learners and to be transformative for South African society. This study contributes to research on teacher identity, the development of their normative professionalism, and teaching-learning in classroom practice. The findings also inform a broader international SANPAD1 research project, (2010 – 2012). Recommendations for further research include issues relating to professional teacher education programmes, focusing on extending and strengthening teachers‟ „identity capital‟ as the core stimulus for the development of teachers‟ normative professionalism. / Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Development Innovation and Evaluation))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The study was conducted in northern Ghana to determine the scope of male partner violence (MPV) against women, identify the factors associated with this problem as well as point out the health implications of MPV. In a sample of 443 married women drawn from outpatient populations across six district health centers we found that nearly 7 out of 10 women have experienced some MPV: 62% have experienced psychological violence; 29% have experienced physical violence; and 34% have experienced sexual violence. A multiple regression analysis showed that male controlling behavior, number of children, presence of concubines, partner appreciation, and very good health significantly predicted Total Violence. The results showed that the more controlling a husband is the more likely his wife is to experience severe violence and that more children in the marriage is associated with more violence for the women. Marriage duration was significantly positively correlated with violence, indicating that the longer the time since a woman got married, the more likely she experiences violence. Husband’s education was significantly negatively correlated with violence, indicating that husband education has a decreased effect on violence. Logistic regression and ANOVA models identified a number of socio-demographic factors as significant correlates of MPV. These include couple’s unemployment, particularly husband unemployment, being young – under 30 years and being younger than the husband, presence of concubines, being Muslim or Traditional, living in a rural setting, husband alcohol use, being a healthy woman, and not being appreciated by the husband. We found that MPV is associated with physical and mental health difficulties among women. Some 47 women reported having sustained multiple injuries, including sprains, broken bones and teeth, cuts, and burns. Mental health difficulties among these women included partner phobia, sleep deprivation, and thoughts of suicide. We make recommendations that call on government and other stakeholders to initiate policy that provides services to women experiencing MPV and that implements education and campaign programs to eventually eliminate MPV in Ghana generally.