{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15959"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15959","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Gender constraints to increased agricultural production faced by rural women in KwaZulu","abstract":"It is well known that women are constrained by their gender role, which is imposed on them by the gender relations they experience. This role allocates them the direct responsibility for maintenance of the household and subjects them to patriarchal relations of male domination and female subordination. There is little understanding, however, of how gender-specific constraints operate. This study records the gender-specific constraints affecting the lives of black, rural women in a homeland in South Africa (KwaZulu). An analysis is given of the extent to which these gender-specific constraints affect the agricultural productivity of these women. An integrated methodology, combining elements of qualitative observations, key-informant interviews and quantitative surveys was used to identify gender-based constraints to agricultural production experienced by rural women in the study area (the Nhlangwini Ward, Umzumbe District, southern KwaZulu). This information revealed that the lives of women in the Nhlangwini Ward are severely affected by gender-specific constraints that arise out of: their involvement in various activities that constitute their multiple work role (survival tasks, household tasks and different resources (land, income generation); their access to capital and training) and their perception of their gender role and the patriarchal relations they experience. Women in the ward adapt to these constraints by: using child labour and hired labour to assist them in conducting survival tasks and household tasks; allocating some shopping (for clothes) to male household members who have greater access to urban centres; membership of community gardens to gain access to arable land and agricultural expertise; hiring private arable land for farming and adopting poultry farming as a favoured agricultural activity. Recommendations are made for types of projects and policy changes that could work to overcome these constraints and the broader subordination of women in rural areas. As gender and rural development is a pioneering research field in South Africa, more research of this type is urgently required because at present the development process takes little cognisance of gender issues.","abstract_html":"It is well known that women are constrained by their gender role, which is imposed on them by the gender relations they experience. This role allocates them the direct responsibility for maintenance of the household and subjects them to patriarchal relations of male domination and female subordination. There is little understanding, however, of how gender-specific constraints operate. This study records the gender-specific constraints affecting the lives of black, rural women in a homeland in South Africa (KwaZulu). An analysis is given of the extent to which these gender-specific constraints affect the agricultural productivity of these women. An integrated methodology, combining elements of qualitative observations, key-informant interviews and quantitative surveys was used to identify gender-based constraints to agricultural production experienced by rural women in the study area (the Nhlangwini Ward, Umzumbe District, southern KwaZulu). This information revealed that the lives of women in the Nhlangwini Ward are severely affected by gender-specific constraints that arise out of: their involvement in various activities that constitute their multiple work role (survival tasks, household tasks and different resources (land, income generation); their access to capital and training) and their perception of their gender role and the patriarchal relations they experience. Women in the ward adapt to these constraints by: using child labour and hired labour to assist them in conducting survival tasks and household tasks; allocating some shopping (for clothes) to male household members who have greater access to urban centres; membership of community gardens to gain access to arable land and agricultural expertise; hiring private arable land for farming and adopting poultry farming as a favoured agricultural activity. Recommendations are made for types of projects and policy changes that could work to overcome these constraints and the broader subordination of women in rural areas. As gender and rural development is a pioneering research field in South Africa, more research of this type is urgently required because at present the development process takes little cognisance of gender issues.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Murphy, Carol (Carol Anne), 1961-"],"institution":"Department of Environmental and Geographical Science","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Cook, Gillian","Fincham, R J"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1990,"date_issued":"1990","date_published":"1990","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:13Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15959","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Cook, Gillian","Fincham, R J"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Murphy, Carol (Carol Anne), 1961-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-12-28T06:02:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-12-28T06:02:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1990"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Environmental and Geographical Science"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15959"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Bibliography: pages 116-124."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It is well known that women are constrained by their gender role, which is imposed on them by the gender relations they experience. This role allocates them the direct responsibility for maintenance of the household and subjects them to patriarchal relations of male domination and female subordination. There is little understanding, however, of how gender-specific constraints operate. This study records the gender-specific constraints affecting the lives of black, rural women in a homeland in South Africa (KwaZulu). An analysis is given of the extent to which these gender-specific constraints affect the agricultural productivity of these women. An integrated methodology, combining elements of qualitative observations, key-informant interviews and quantitative surveys was used to identify gender-based constraints to agricultural production experienced by rural women in the study area (the Nhlangwini Ward, Umzumbe District, southern KwaZulu). This information revealed that the lives of women in the Nhlangwini Ward are severely affected by gender-specific constraints that arise out of: their involvement in various activities that constitute their multiple work role (survival tasks, household tasks and different resources (land, income generation); their access to capital and training) and their perception of their gender role and the patriarchal relations they experience. Women in the ward adapt to these constraints by: using child labour and hired labour to assist them in conducting survival tasks and household tasks; allocating some shopping (for clothes) to male household members who have greater access to urban centres; membership of community gardens to gain access to arable land and agricultural expertise; hiring private arable land for farming and adopting poultry farming as a favoured agricultural activity. Recommendations are made for types of projects and policy changes that could work to overcome these constraints and the broader subordination of women in rural areas. As gender and rural development is a pioneering research field in South Africa, more research of this type is urgently required because at present the development process takes little cognisance of gender issues."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gender constraints to increased agricultural production faced by rural women in KwaZulu"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Cook, Gillian","Fincham, R J"],"dc:creator":["Murphy, Carol (Carol Anne), 1961-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-12-28T06:02:13Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-12-28T06:02:13Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1990"],"dc:description":["Bibliography: pages 116-124."],"dc:description.abstract":["It is well known that women are constrained by their gender role, which is imposed on them by the gender relations they experience. This role allocates them the direct responsibility for maintenance of the household and subjects them to patriarchal relations of male domination and female subordination. There is little understanding, however, of how gender-specific constraints operate. This study records the gender-specific constraints affecting the lives of black, rural women in a homeland in South Africa (KwaZulu). An analysis is given of the extent to which these gender-specific constraints affect the agricultural productivity of these women. An integrated methodology, combining elements of qualitative observations, key-informant interviews and quantitative surveys was used to identify gender-based constraints to agricultural production experienced by rural women in the study area (the Nhlangwini Ward, Umzumbe District, southern KwaZulu). This information revealed that the lives of women in the Nhlangwini Ward are severely affected by gender-specific constraints that arise out of: their involvement in various activities that constitute their multiple work role (survival tasks, household tasks and different resources (land, income generation); their access to capital and training) and their perception of their gender role and the patriarchal relations they experience. Women in the ward adapt to these constraints by: using child labour and hired labour to assist them in conducting survival tasks and household tasks; allocating some shopping (for clothes) to male household members who have greater access to urban centres; membership of community gardens to gain access to arable land and agricultural expertise; hiring private arable land for farming and adopting poultry farming as a favoured agricultural activity. Recommendations are made for types of projects and policy changes that could work to overcome these constraints and the broader subordination of women in rural areas. As gender and rural development is a pioneering research field in South Africa, more research of this type is urgently required because at present the development process takes little cognisance of gender issues."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15959"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Environmental and Geographical Science"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["Gender constraints to increased agricultural production faced by rural women in KwaZulu"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:13Z"}