Women in South Africa

Women in South Africa

Toni Larson

GWS - Dr. Brown

2/22/2012

South Africa is one of the most diverse and interesting countries in the world. Many tourists flock to South Africa for its natural beauty, wildlife, and sunshine. Diversity is a big part of South Africa where eleven languages are recognized as official and the houses range from traditional mud huts to lavish homes with swimming pools. So how are people, more specifically, women treated in South Africa? What are the demographics, family situations, or work like for women living in South Africa? When examining these topics we have to keep in mind diversity, with so many different types of people living in South Africa everyone has different views and opinions from traditional to modern.

South Africa is on the southern tip of Africa, there is about 2,700 KM of coastline and the climate is mostly subtropical with sunny days and cool nights. As mentioned earlier, with eleven official languages recognized in the constitution, South Africa’s people are diverse. The population, as of 2010, is roughly 49 million people, and about 51% of the people living in South Africa are women (Seager 114). The ethnic groups that make up South Africa are as follows; African: 79%, white: 9.6%, racial minorities: 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5%. So obviously African’s make up the majority of the 49 million people. South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with a rich supply of natural resources. South Africa’s main agricultural products are corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, beef, poultry, mutton, wool, and dairy products. South Africa is a large producer of platinum, gold, and chromium, so mining is a profitable industry for the country. Even though mining is profitable for South Africa this is a male dominated industry, very few women acquire jobs in the mining industry. Other industries include; automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, and commercial ship repair. Once again, these dominate industries in South Africa are male dominated.  

Furthermore on the idea of work, even though the dominate industry’s in South Africa are not headed by women more and more women are entering the workforce. The variety in which they can choose from however is limited and hinders their performance and income potential. It is estimated that between 40% and 49% of South African women work for pay. There are three main industries in South Africa; industrial, agricultural, and service industry. The majority of South African women work in the service industry at 79% while men take the majority of the industrial industry (Seager 63). Because of gender gaps and discrimination women are forced to take service jobs. Service jobs can include, but is not limited to cleaning and nannies.  Additionally, in South Africa, because the industry in which women have access to is so limited there are not very many women in management positions. 11.3% of women hold senior management positions and only 1.5% of that 11.3% are held by African women.

As with everything else changing in the world so is the nature of families. Families are becoming increasingly different from what they were in 1950. Families are typically smaller and households are headed more by women. Houses in richer countries are getting bigger per square feet while the number of people who occupy them are getting smaller. However, South Africa’s average number of people per household is 4 to 4.9 and 25% of those households are headed by women (Seager 23). Most families in South Africa are poor and struggle to satisfy their daily needs. In the day to day lives most women work in the service industry while the men work in the industrial industry. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate has increased due to the worldwide recession so when men or women can’t find work they are most likely to fall into an informal labor category and try and make a living that way. The informal workforce can be related to petty trade such as food processing and domestic work; it is paid but work is unstructured and unregulated.

Continuing on with family situations, since 1970 women’s use of modern contraceptives has increased dramatically, more than 50% of the world’s women now use modern contraceptives. Modern contraceptives is “contraceptive methods include oral contraceptives, IUD, injectable, sterilization.” (Seager 37). While traditional contraceptives include “folk remedies, herbal remedies, rhythm, withdrawal, planned abstinence” (Seager 37). 75% of South African women are using modern day contraceptive. However, abortion is and probably always will be a sensitive subject for most. Many areas of the world accept or forbid abortion in their country due to various reasons. In South Africa, abortion is legal on request but usually with gestational limits. Meaning, abortion is legal up to a certain point in the pregnancy. Nelson Mandela signed the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act in November 1996 and it went into effect in February 1997. “In the first year alone 31,312 legal terminations were performed. That number increased to more than 100,000 by August 1999” (Knudsen 26). One of the main reasons abortions was legalized in South Africa was because of the unhealthy things women would do to their own bodies to try and abort the baby themselves. “I’ve seen many things inserted in vaginas [in an attempt to self-abort]. Women will insert such horrible chemicals into their vaginas, and then come to me for help. So there was a huge demand for it” (Knudsen 26). Abortion related mortality has decreased significantly in South Africa since the new law went into effect. However, Africa as a whole is a different story. 53% of women in Africa die from unsafe abortion practices (Seager 39). South Africa made abortion legal to stop this event from happening but much of the surrounding countries still forbid abortions which are forcing women to use unsafe abortion practices knowing that there is a 50-50 chance they will lose their life as well as the child’s. Women who die in pregnancy and childbirth are all too high regardless if it’s from abortion or natural birth. In South Africa, between 100 – 399 out of 100,000 women die from child birth each year (Seager 39). Most commonly from severe bleeding however there are many other factors that can come into play like not being able to afford proper medical care during labor and post labor.

Furthermore, women around the world are routinely subject to torture, starvation, humiliation, mutilation, and murder simply because they are female. Domestic violence has always been a problem for women in various countries. “Between 40% - 70% of female murder victims are killed by husbands or boyfriends” in South Africa (Seager 31).  Astonishingly, the majority of abuse goes on at home. 25% of women in South Africa have experienced physical abuse by a male partner or intimate (Seager 29). The home is supposed to be where women and children can feel safe and secure but in many South Africa homes, this is where the abuse takes place. A main issue with South Africa’s government is that “domestic violence is not officially defined as a crime” (Violence Against Women in South Africa 9). Up until 1998 domestic violence wasn’t a crime therefore many cases of it happening went unreported thus continuing the cycle of abuse. In 1998 South Africa’s government passed The Domestic Violence Act which specifically addresses domestic violence and the prevention/prosecution of it. “Acts constituting as domestic violence include; physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, psychological abuse, economic, intimidation, harassment, stalking, and damage to property” (Vetten 3). Even though the Domestic Violence Act was a huge stride for South Africa’s women there was still a downfall. Women would still decide not to report cases of domestic violence from fear of what would happen if they reported it, further abuse from their husband or father. So even though it is a great act South Africa still needs to make women aware of the act and make them feel comfortable with reporting cases of violence. 

Nobody denies the number of men and women living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa is staggering. Africa as a whole has a real and life threating issue with HIV/AIDS. Africa has 22.5 million adults living with HIV/AIDS, the most in the whole world. 70% of the world’s population living with HIV/AIDS lives in Sub-Sahara Africa and South Africa is the largest number of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS at 5.5 million adults and children (Seager 49). Unprotected sex, rapes, and medical resources are what make up for this staggering number. HIV/AIDS can be transmitted from an infected person to another through; blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. The main transfer is from semen but also breast milk can transfer the disease to children. 1.2 million children are orphaned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Many children often contract HIV/AIDS themselves from their parents  increasing infant mortality rate and also continuing the awful cycle. The estimated weekly death toll from HIV/AIDS in 2005 is 6,153 people in South Africa. With over 6,000 people dying each week, HIV/AIDS is an epidemic in South Africa (Maugh, 2010).

Fortunately, South Africa’s government is taking note of these staggering numbers and will be stepping up its fight against this epidemic. The first step the government will take is to educate South Africa about the dangers of this epidemic and how to prevent the spreading of it. Also, the government will be “broaden the scope of reproductive health rights and provide services related to contraception, sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancy, and sanitary towels for the indigent” (Bathembu). The Department of Health has set a target of 50% reduction in the number of new HIV/AIDS in the country. Many efforts are going into supporting the prevention of HIV/AIDS and with the success of educating South Africa and providing the right medical care the death rates that result from HIV/AIDS can be reduced.

Political situations in South Africa are not the best for women but they are making great strides. “The ruling African National Congress has brought in a slew of laws over the past 16 years, legalizing abortion, giving women equal power in marriage, cracking down on domestic violence, criminalizing sexual harassment at work, banning all gender discrimination, and providing women of any skin color with the same degree of affirmative action in education, employment and politics as blacks, colored, and Indians” (Vetten). Women have played a big role in helping these laws get passed. Women hold 44% of parliamentary seats, and 41% of cabinet posts in South Africa. So it is clearly shown that South Africa is making great strides in equality for all but unfortunately just because it is a law does not mean it is being practiced. Being many of these laws are fairly recent many women are afraid of the consequences of using them like stated before, that is why South Africa still has some milestones to overcome before equality can truly exist but they are moving in the right direction.

Inspirational women in South Africa include anyone who is in a government position to the hardworking business owner. Gladys Mkuonto owns and operates a retail business in order to provide for herself and her daughter. Gladys sells sweets, children’s toys, and other small items at school. She is earning about 800 Rand ($104) per month which is enough to support her family. Also, Ntombituti Ndhloru is a single mother with 4 children. Ntombitutui’s business has evolved over the years and she sells chickens and provides a fast food type service. She works hard so that her children get better education than she had. A woman who has had an influence on the HIV/AIDS epidemic is Musa Njoko. Musa is an Aids activist and a gospel artist. As a gospel singer, Musa is highly sought after in South Africa and has a very successful career. As an Aids activist, Musa was diagnosed with Aids at 22 and is currently working with people in government to launch a new plan against the fight against Aids. Musa is proving that she will not let this disease slow her or her career down. The women mentioned above are the type of women that South Africa needs to keep their fight for equality going. With the ever changing South Africa laws women are given more and more rights and they need to take advantage of that opportunity and voice their opinions for change.

Overall, South Africa has come a long way and continue to make improvements. We found out that women are generally undervalued and discriminated against. Learning and knowing these things can hopefully inspire support from other countries or influential leaders to help bridge the discrimination gap between women and men. With the continued help of government support and inspirational voices South Africa’s women can break through the discrimination and can focus on tackling key issues to their country.

Biography:

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Maugh, Thomas. Studies Show Promising in Curbing AIDS in Africa. Los Angeles Times. (2010)

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