Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Sudan is one of the countries with a large number of people who move around the country for safety and better living conditions due to conflicts and the long lasting war. These people are referred to as Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and most of them live in rural areas. The war in Sudan has led to socio-economic deterioration, and has negatively affected social services such as health and education, particularly in the IDP camps. As a result, children's access to education and the quality of education remain a great concern. Educational challenges include poor infrastructure, lack of facilities and teaching-learning materials, over-crowding and shortage of trained teachers. Illiteracy rates are higher among women, and the drop-out rates are higher among girls. It is believed that traditional socio-cultural practices are barriers to girls' access to education in this country. In light of the above, this study investigates factors which contribute to girls' construction of educational aspirations in the IDP camps of North and South Sudan. The girls' educational aspirations are explored in relation to gender empowerment discourses in order to gain an understanding of how gender empowerment is perceived and implemented by young females as they move between the school and home environments. It analyzes the impact of socio-cultural factors on girls' educational aspirations, perceptions and self-esteem in order to understand the significance of education within a gender empowerment framework in the lives of young girls 10 disadvantaged communities of Sudan. Through the lens of the Capabilities Approach and various Feminist views, the study explores how gender discourses in education are understood, and the extent to which they contribute to building girls' opportunities and capacities in the local context. The study provides an analysis of the girls' opinions of themselves, and the influence of socio-cultural factors on their inspirational plans and expectations. This study employed a qualitative case study design. Various qualitative data collection methods which include qualitative Life History Interviews (LHJs), In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and non-participant observations were used for triangulation purposes. Data were collected from two schools in IDP areas in North Sudan, Khartoum State and in Juba, South Sudan. The target groups were girls in Grades 6, 7 and 8. The teachers and girls' parents in the IDP communities were also involved in the study. The findings of this study indicate that the girls' educational aspirations are built around knowledge, agency and capabilities which appear to correspond with girls' empowerment and self efficacy. However, there a number of traditional socio-cultural practices which . seem to have a negative influence on girls' educational aspirations, and they tend to reinforce gender inequality and stereotypes in different ways. These practices are rooted in the patriarchal nature of the Sudanese society, and the manner in which children are socialized. Girls' educational aspirations in such contexts are subject to the life challenges that they experience in their environment, such as poverty and their perceived low socio-economic status at home and in school. This study concludes that girls' educational aspirations and perceptions are constructed and shaped within the gender role socialization and the traditional or patriarchal social system in Sudan. The home and school environments in disadvantaged communities of Sudan appear to reinforce gender inequality in the manner in which parents and teachers treat children. The entrenched socio-cultural practices and pressures seem to impact negatively on the school girls' educational aspirations, expectations and self-esteem. The research provides a number of recommendations which aim at bridging the gender gap in school and at home, in order to support girls' equal access to education. It recommends free gender biased school and home environments which provide equal education opportunities to both boys and girls for socio-economic empowerment.

<p>South Africa is undergoing a period of transition from Apartheid to democracy. In this process, redressing discriminatory factors (race and gender) is of utmost urgency and importance. The equity Act, and within this, affirmative action, are ways in which these isuses can be addressed. South Africa has undergone a process of dramatic change. Since the first democrataic election of 1994, notably so in the area of gender equity. This report examined female representivity in senior management within Drakenstein municipality in the Western Cape. The study evaluated employment barriers, which inhibits women from entering senior positions. The study also compared and analyzed past, present and future development, to evaluate the efforts that have been made to promote employment equity within local government.</p>

A pesquisa que orienta esta dissertação foi realizada no período de março a dezembro de 2008 no Fórum de Santo Amaro e na Vara Distrital de Parelheiros com mulheres que entraram com ações de alimentos contra os pais de seus filhos. As 35 mulheres entrevistadas apontaram para a multiplicidade do conflito que as fazem entrar com este tipo de ação e para a multiplicidade de papéis sociais que desempenham, embora tanto conflito quanto papéis sejam simplificados e padronizados durante as audiências de conciliação. O espaço dessas audiências se restringe à discussão do valor monetário da pensão alimentícia, o que contribui para a celeridade processual e para um certo tipo de reprodução de desigualdade de gênero, pois a paternidade é restringida à obrigação de arcar com uma parcela do sustento material do filho, enquanto da maternidade se espera não só a outra parcela desse sustento material como, em muitos casos, toda a responsabilidade pelos sustentos moral e afetivo. Como a ação de alimentos é normalmente acionada após a dissolução de uma união consensual, o conflito que costuma deflagrá-la envolve questões como divisão de bens, violência doméstica, guarda e visitas das crianças, questões estas que são vistas pelas mulheres como tão ou mais importantes do que o estabelecimento de um valor monetário de pensão alimentícia, pois abarcam a dimensão afetiva da paternidade e o reconhecimento de insultos morais de que muitas mulheres se declaram vítimas. Essas dimensões morais e afetivas do conflito não são discutidas em audiências de conciliação, sendo algumas delas objetos de outras ações judiciais. O conflito, portanto, sentido como único pelas partes, é fragmentado pelo Judiciário para que se chegue a uma solução. Apesar disto, a abordagem aprofundada de dois casos mostra que o acesso à justiça, por meio deste tipo de ação, pode ser sentido como positivo pelas mulheres, pois o contato com o Judiciário acaba por resignificar seu lugar, fazendo com que se reconheçam, mais enfaticamente, como sujeitos de direitos. / This dissertation was originated by a research carried out from March to December 2008, at Santo Amaros Court and Parelheiros District Court, with women who have filed lawsuits against their childrens fathers for child support. The 35 interviewed women pointed out the conflict multiplicity to make them file this kind of lawsuit and the social roles diversity they have to perform, although both conflict and roles are simplified and standardized during the conciliation hearings. Those hearing spaces are restricted to the discussion of the child support amount, thus contributing to procedural speed. But the reproduction of gender inequality is also reinforced, for fatherhood is understood to cover only part of the childs maintenance, while motherhood covers financial support and also, in many cases, all the moral and affective responsibility. As the child support process is usually filed after a domestic partnership has been dissolved, the conflict that often starts the lawsuit is also related to issues like distribution of property, domestic violence, and child custody and access. These issues are perceived by the women as equally or more important that the settlement of child support, for they entail the affective dimension of parenthood and the recognition of the moral offenses that many women claim to be victim of. Those moral and affective dimensions of the conflict are not discussed in conciliation hearings, while some of them are objects of other law proceedings. The conflict, thus, experienced as a whole by the parties, is divided by the Judiciary to be successfully settled. In spite of that, the deep analysis of two cases shows that access to justice, by means of this kind of legal action, is experienced as positive by the women, for the contact with the Judiciary actually reframes their places, causing them to recognize themselves, more strongly, as subjects of rights.

<p>South Africa is undergoing a period of transition from Apartheid to democracy. In this process, redressing discriminatory factors (race and gender) is of utmost urgency and importance. The equity Act, and within this, affirmative action, are ways in which these isuses can be addressed. South Africa has undergone a process of dramatic change. Since the first democrataic election of 1994, notably so in the area of gender equity. This report examined female representivity in senior management within Drakenstein municipality in the Western Cape. The study evaluated employment barriers, which inhibits women from entering senior positions. The study also compared and analyzed past, present and future development, to evaluate the efforts that have been made to promote employment equity within local government.</p>

This thesis examines whether, how and to what extent social cash transfers help the poor in reducing poverty; not only in income terms but also in relation to how they build on their capabilities and address gender inequality, risk and vulnerability. The thesis explores these questions through an analysis of a community targeted social cash transfer scheme from Traditional Authority Mlomba, Machinga district in Malawi, using the capability approach as the conceptual framework of analysis. The study is located in the critical realist domain as its underlying research philosophy. The study is qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews, observations and life histories. The scheme targets the poorest 10% of the population who are also labour constrained and deemed to be economically unproductive. Thus, the study offers some insights into an area that is not well researched as it is a relatively new concept to target the poor who are also labour constrained and not economically productive. In this thesis, I show that despite the limited resource base compared to the large number of the poor, social cash transfers as low as US$14 per household per month can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of poverty through building capabilities of the poor, empowering women and addressing some of the gendered inequalities, risk and vulnerability. Therefore, social cash transfers are not just handouts but act as ladders that can uplift the absolute poor out of poverty.

A pesquisa que orienta esta dissertação foi realizada no período de março a dezembro de 2008 no Fórum de Santo Amaro e na Vara Distrital de Parelheiros com mulheres que entraram com ações de alimentos contra os pais de seus filhos. As 35 mulheres entrevistadas apontaram para a multiplicidade do conflito que as fazem entrar com este tipo de ação e para a multiplicidade de papéis sociais que desempenham, embora tanto conflito quanto papéis sejam simplificados e padronizados durante as audiências de conciliação. O espaço dessas audiências se restringe à discussão do valor monetário da pensão alimentícia, o que contribui para a celeridade processual e para um certo tipo de reprodução de desigualdade de gênero, pois a paternidade é restringida à obrigação de arcar com uma parcela do sustento material do filho, enquanto da maternidade se espera não só a outra parcela desse sustento material como, em muitos casos, toda a responsabilidade pelos sustentos moral e afetivo. Como a ação de alimentos é normalmente acionada após a dissolução de uma união consensual, o conflito que costuma deflagrá-la envolve questões como divisão de bens, violência doméstica, guarda e visitas das crianças, questões estas que são vistas pelas mulheres como tão ou mais importantes do que o estabelecimento de um valor monetário de pensão alimentícia, pois abarcam a dimensão afetiva da paternidade e o reconhecimento de insultos morais de que muitas mulheres se declaram vítimas. Essas dimensões morais e afetivas do conflito não são discutidas em audiências de conciliação, sendo algumas delas objetos de outras ações judiciais. O conflito, portanto, sentido como único pelas partes, é fragmentado pelo Judiciário para que se chegue a uma solução. Apesar disto, a abordagem aprofundada de dois casos mostra que o acesso à justiça, por meio deste tipo de ação, pode ser sentido como positivo pelas mulheres, pois o contato com o Judiciário acaba por resignificar seu lugar, fazendo com que se reconheçam, mais enfaticamente, como sujeitos de direitos. / This dissertation was originated by a research carried out from March to December 2008, at Santo Amaros Court and Parelheiros District Court, with women who have filed lawsuits against their childrens fathers for child support. The 35 interviewed women pointed out the conflict multiplicity to make them file this kind of lawsuit and the social roles diversity they have to perform, although both conflict and roles are simplified and standardized during the conciliation hearings. Those hearing spaces are restricted to the discussion of the child support amount, thus contributing to procedural speed. But the reproduction of gender inequality is also reinforced, for fatherhood is understood to cover only part of the childs maintenance, while motherhood covers financial support and also, in many cases, all the moral and affective responsibility. As the child support process is usually filed after a domestic partnership has been dissolved, the conflict that often starts the lawsuit is also related to issues like distribution of property, domestic violence, and child custody and access. These issues are perceived by the women as equally or more important that the settlement of child support, for they entail the affective dimension of parenthood and the recognition of the moral offenses that many women claim to be victim of. Those moral and affective dimensions of the conflict are not discussed in conciliation hearings, while some of them are objects of other law proceedings. The conflict, thus, experienced as a whole by the parties, is divided by the Judiciary to be successfully settled. In spite of that, the deep analysis of two cases shows that access to justice, by means of this kind of legal action, is experienced as positive by the women, for the contact with the Judiciary actually reframes their places, causing them to recognize themselves, more strongly, as subjects of rights.

No description available.

Natural disasters and conflicts are not gender neutral. They have a different impact on women, girls, boys and men, deepening and intensifying already existing, socially constructed, cultural norms and gender roles. However, crisis represents a “turning point” that shakes balances and traditions, unbalancing the fixed social structure, leaving room for women to exit the crisis empowered, rather than wounded. A systemic integration of a gender-sensitive approach into humanitarian and disaster reliefs operations wound tackle pre-existing inequalities, ensuring an effective quality response and recover from disasters.

No description available.

This thesis examines whether, how and to what extent social cash transfers help the poor in reducing poverty; not only in income terms but also in relation to how they build on their capabilities and address gender inequality, risk and vulnerability. The thesis explores these questions through an analysis of a community targeted social cash transfer scheme from Traditional Authority Mlomba, Machinga district in Malawi, using the capability approach as the conceptual framework of analysis. The study is located in the critical realist domain as its underlying research philosophy. The study is qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews, observations and life histories. The scheme targets the poorest 10% of the population who are also labour constrained and deemed to be economically unproductive. Thus, the study offers some insights into an area that is not well researched as it is a relatively new concept to target the poor who are also labour constrained and not economically productive. In this thesis, I show that despite the limited resource base compared to the large number of the poor, social cash transfers as low as US$14 per household per month can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of poverty through building capabilities of the poor, empowering women and addressing some of the gendered inequalities, risk and vulnerability. Therefore, social cash transfers are not just handouts but act as ladders that can uplift the absolute poor out of poverty.