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.
Augusta Klumpke: pioneering female neurologist.
The latter part of the 19th century was an exciting period when women at last were succeeding in their battle to obtain their medical training and qualifications to practice in the UK, continental Europe and in the USA. Moreover, and perhaps not surprisingly, many of these determined and doughty pioneers showed themselves to be exceptionally able in their chosen specialities. Perhaps the best example of this was Augusta Klumpke (Figure 1), who became an outstanding neurologist in Paris. This year marks the 150th anniversary of her birth.