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Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa
This dissertation explores documented and undocumented Zimbabwean migrant women's experiences in accessing public health services in South Africa. It unpacks migrant women's vulnerability and subsequent coping strategies they improvise against the shocks and stresses they face. Data in this study...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Social Anthropology
2019
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| _version_ | 1867613249544912896 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Chekero, Tamuka |
| author2 | Ross, Fiona C |
| author_browse | Chekero, Tamuka Ross, Fiona C |
| author_facet | Ross, Fiona C Chekero, Tamuka |
| author_sort | Chekero, Tamuka |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This dissertation explores documented and undocumented Zimbabwean migrant
women's experiences in accessing public health services in South Africa. It unpacks
migrant women's vulnerability and subsequent coping strategies they improvise
against the shocks and stresses they face. Data in this study was collected over two
and a half months using qualitative anthropological techniques. I used key informant
interviews, unstructured interviews, life-histories and focus group discussions. The
data was analysed using Chabal's (2009) model of ‗suffering and surviving'.
Findings in this study reveal that Zimbabwean migrant women in South Africa are
excluded from accessing public health services, despite them being accommodated
in policy frameworks and the South African Constitution. The excluded women
improvise various strategies in accessing health services. In coping with exclusion,
they use strategies such as marriage, social capital, local institutions and indigenous
knowledge. These strategies act as safety nets in times of health shocks and stresses
for both women and their unborn and born children. In terms of indigenous
knowledge, women depend on traditional medicines from traditional midwives. In
some cases they consult spiritual healers as a strategy of anticipating danger and
coping with various health ailments. Vulnerable women also utilise their linking
capital and receive assistance from local institutions such as NGOs. On the
horizontal level, they invest in bonding capital as a coping strategy to deal with
health challenges. Furthermore, excluded women's horizontal relationships in civic
informal institutions, such as money rotating clubs and burial societies, reduce their
vulnerability to exclusion and help them fortify their resilience. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29185 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:08.525Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Social Anthropology |
| publisherStr | Social Anthropology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29185 Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa Chekero, Tamuka Ross, Fiona C Social Anthropology This dissertation explores documented and undocumented Zimbabwean migrant women's experiences in accessing public health services in South Africa. It unpacks migrant women's vulnerability and subsequent coping strategies they improvise against the shocks and stresses they face. Data in this study was collected over two and a half months using qualitative anthropological techniques. I used key informant interviews, unstructured interviews, life-histories and focus group discussions. The data was analysed using Chabal's (2009) model of ‗suffering and surviving'. Findings in this study reveal that Zimbabwean migrant women in South Africa are excluded from accessing public health services, despite them being accommodated in policy frameworks and the South African Constitution. The excluded women improvise various strategies in accessing health services. In coping with exclusion, they use strategies such as marriage, social capital, local institutions and indigenous knowledge. These strategies act as safety nets in times of health shocks and stresses for both women and their unborn and born children. In terms of indigenous knowledge, women depend on traditional medicines from traditional midwives. In some cases they consult spiritual healers as a strategy of anticipating danger and coping with various health ailments. Vulnerable women also utilise their linking capital and receive assistance from local institutions such as NGOs. On the horizontal level, they invest in bonding capital as a coping strategy to deal with health challenges. Furthermore, excluded women's horizontal relationships in civic informal institutions, such as money rotating clubs and burial societies, reduce their vulnerability to exclusion and help them fortify their resilience. 2019-01-31T09:34:13Z 2019-01-31T09:34:13Z 2018 2019-01-25T07:44:12Z Master Thesis Masters MSocSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29185 eng application/pdf Social Anthropology Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Social Anthropology Chekero, Tamuka Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| title_full | Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| title_short | Suffering and surviving beyond home borders: experiences of Zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in Giyani, South Africa |
| title_sort | suffering and surviving beyond home borders experiences of zimbabwean migrant women in accessing health care services in giyani south africa |
| topic | Social Anthropology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29185 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chekerotamuka sufferingandsurvivingbeyondhomebordersexperiencesofzimbabweanmigrantwomeninaccessinghealthcareservicesingiyanisouthafrica |