preview

The Multifaceted State Of South Africa Underwent Vast Reconstruction

Decent Essays

The multifaceted state of South Africa underwent vast reconstruction after the end of the apartheid in 1994 and experienced transformative changes in the racial, economic and societal relations of the region. Aside from the divisions and devastations the country faced as a result of apartheid the country also opened its economy to international business, deregulating major sectors of its economy and engaging in trade liberalization policies in an attempt to spur economic growth and international trade (Schreiner, Mohapi & Koppen, 2004). The positive economic development that was expected as a result of these policies was not felt and many people lost their main source of employment and survival. This affected South African woman …show more content…

Literature in this field emphasizes the idea that although these programs directly contribute to the income and thus empowerment of women they are not a cure-all solution to women’s poverty and women face major developmental and societal challenges, particularly in South Africa given the events of the Apartheid. Literature within this field highlighted that improving gender equity and improving the economic power of women would enable long-term development and success for women (Chant, 2014).
1st Body Paragraph

The multifaceted role of women in South Africa is described as a “dual burden of productive and reproductive labor” or women engage in a ‘triple burden’ of activity in which women as the head of the household are the single earner, the earner being female and having to cope with labor market disadvantages as well as the “time constraints due to commitments of managing the household and earning income” (Chant, 2014; Rogan, 2012, p. 493). The gendered role of the responsibility of women within the household leads to a lack of support from male counterparts and a “disparity in the capacity to negotiate obligations and entitlements” of work within the household (Chant, 2014, p. 302). In the face of extreme poverty women have the responsibility to care

Get Access