Large and small houses in Luganda: housing construction and gender in South Africa
This article discusses the participation of women in housing delivery in Luganda, which occurred at a time of both political and economic changes that had a profound impact on their ability to consolidate their core structures. The findings suggest that few women in Luganda were involved in ‘skilled’ residential construction. When they participated, it was in supportive roles such as clearing the sites for construction, carrying water and mixing the concrete. However, home ownership brought women benefits in that their houses provided the space and infrastructure that they needed to effectively carry out their informal sector activities, which related to the services sector. This study argues that skilled work in construction is better remunerated than in the services sector, in which most women work. If women are to enter the formal construction sector it is imperative that they alter their attitudes and those of their spouses. Projects dealing with shelter delivery should therefore focus not only on the product but also on raising the consciousness of the beneficiaries with regard to gender matters.
A bed called home: Life in the migrant labour hostels of Cape Town
In the last three years the migrant labor hostels of South Africa, particularly those in the Transvaal, have gained international notoriety as theaters of violence. For many years they were hidden from public view and neglected by the white authorities. Now, it seems, hostel dwellers may have chosen physical violence to draw attention to the structural violence of their appalling conditions of life. Yet we should not lose sight of the fact that the majority of hostel dwellers are peace-loving people who have over the years developed creative strategies to cope with their impoverished and degrading environment. In this challenging study, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele documents the life of the hostel dwellers of Cape Town, for whom a bed is literally a home for both themselves and their families. Elaborating the concept of space in its many dimensions-not just physical, but political, ideological, social, and economic as well-she emphasizes the constraints exerted on hostel dwellers by the limited spaces they inhabit. At the same time, she argues that within these constraints people have managed to find room for manoeuvre, and in her book explores the emancipatory possibilities of their environment. The text is illustrated with a number of black-and-white photographs taken by Roger Meintjes in the townships and hostels.
Women, Poverty and Progress in the Third World. Headline Series No. 289.
This booklet examines the economic role of women in developing countries evaluates the impact of development efforts and provides recommendations for alleviating the poverty of women and their families. The first chapter "Women and Development" points out that development institutions are becoming increasingly aware of the link between womens status and economic progress. Because the issue of poverty has gone unresolved the gains of women in health and education have had little impact in their overall well-being. Chapter 2 is entitled "Womens Economic Contributions." This chapter argues that women are the key to reducing hunger and poverty promoting family welfare finding sustainable solutions to the use of natural resources and promoting economic growth in the developing world. Chapter 3 considers both the past and future focus of development assistance especially as it concerns women. In the 1970s development assistance began to move away from the transfer of technology and capital to investment in health education family planning and infrastructure. These efforts however often ignored womens key role. But women began to receive increasing attention from donor agencies after the UN declared 1976-86 the Decade for Women. The chapter discusses the involvement of womens organizations in bringing about greater attention to womens issues. The final chapter lays out an agenda for alleviating womens poverty. The book points out that providing women with access to decently paid employment and productive resources--capital land and technologies--is the most effective way to alleviate their poverty. The chapter also discusses other issues related to womens poverty: agriculture credit formal-sector employment and education.