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Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape

Thesis (MA (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2009.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Van der Heijden, Ingrid
Other Authors: Van der Waal, C. S.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2009
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access_status_str Open Access
author Van der Heijden, Ingrid
author2 Van der Waal, C. S.
author_browse Van der Heijden, Ingrid
Van der Waal, C. S.
author_facet Van der Waal, C. S.
Van der Heijden, Ingrid
author_sort Van der Heijden, Ingrid
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MA (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2009.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/4073
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:43:50.076Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2009
publishDateRange 2009
publishDateSort 2009
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/4073 Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape Van der Heijden, Ingrid Van der Waal, C. S. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Dissertations -- Sociology and social anthropology Theses -- Sociology and social anthropology Women Livelihoods Empowerment Gender Narrative Respectability Women’s entrepreneurship Agency Performance Sociology and Social Anthropology Thesis (MA (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. ENGLISH SUMMARY: Women’s livelihoods are not only experienced differently, but are articulated in different ways. This dissertation begins from the understanding that women’s livelihoods are processual, complex and contextual. They are embedded in multifarious processes, structures, discourses and everyday practices, which are locally defined and globally linked. This thesis interrogates women’s articulations of empowerment and agency that were central to their community and entrepreneurial activities. Women’s social actions and responses to constraints and transformation they encountered in the valley were sites of struggle. Informed by local women’s perspectives and articulations of empowerment, this ethnography focuses on how women practiced their livelihoods: how they manoeuvred, negotiated and performed their livelihood tactics in response to local, national and global constraints. The study narrates how women in a rural valley in the Winelands of the Western Cape (South Africa) spoke of how they felt ‘empowered’ despite constraints. They claimed that they exhibited productive moments and harnessed opportunities to rise above constraints. They felt that in general men in their communities were passive in their response to crisis in the valley. Women’s narratives of empowerment in the Dwars River Valley invoked ideas of ‘women of steel’ and ‘moments’ of agency. These helped to re-fashion local gender orders and rehabilitate notions of ‘appropriate’ women’s work. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bestaanswyses van vroue word nie slegs in die uitleef daarvan waargeneem nie, maar is dikwels ook ‘n fokus van gespreksvoering. Die uitgangspunt van hierdie tesis is dat vroue se bestaanswyses metodies, kompleks en kontekstueel is. Dit word begrond deur uiteenlopende prosesse, strukture, diskoerse, en alledaagse gebruike wat plaaslik gedefinieer word en globaal gebonde is. Hierdie tesis ondersoek vroue se artikulasie van bemagtiging en agentskap wat sentraal tot hul gemeenskap en entrepreneurskap aktiwiteite staan. Vroue se sosiale handelinge en reaksies tot struikelblokke en transformasie wat hulle in die vallei in die gesig gestaar het, is beduidend van ‘n plek van worsteling. Hierdie etnografie word toegelig deur plaaslike vroue se perspektiewe en artikulasie van bemagtiging en fokus op hoe hulle hul bestaanswyse beoefen het: hoe vroue bestaanswyse taktieke gemanipuleer, onderhandel en ook uitgevoer het as reaksie op plaaslike, nasionale en globale beperkinge. Hierdie studie vertel hoe vroue in ‘n landelike vallei van die Wynlande in die Wes-Kaap (Suid-Afrika) praat oor hoe hul ‘bemagtig’ voel, ten spyte van beperkinge. Hulle voer aan dat hul produktiewe oomblikke vertoon en gebruik maak van geleenthede om bo beperkinge uit te styg. Hulle voel dat mans oor die algemeen passief in hul reaksie op krisis is. Vroue se verhale van bemagtiging in die Dwars Rivier Vallei roep beelde op van ‘vroue van staal’ en ‘oomblikke’ van agentskap. Dit het bygedra tot die herskepping van plaaslike gender rolle en die hervestiging van idees oor ‘gepaste’ werk vir vroue. Masters 2009-03-04T10:14:15Z 2010-08-13T13:12:06Z 2009-03-04T10:14:15Z 2010-08-13T13:12:06Z 2009-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/4073 en Stellenbosch University 171 p. : ill., map application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Dissertations -- Sociology and social anthropology
Theses -- Sociology and social anthropology
Women
Livelihoods
Empowerment
Gender
Narrative
Respectability
Women’s entrepreneurship
Agency
Performance
Sociology and Social Anthropology
Van der Heijden, Ingrid
Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title_full Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title_fullStr Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title_full_unstemmed Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title_short Women of Steel : articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the Dwars River Valley, Western Cape
title_sort women of steel articulations of empowerment and livelihood practices in the dwars river valley western cape
topic Dissertations -- Sociology and social anthropology
Theses -- Sociology and social anthropology
Women
Livelihoods
Empowerment
Gender
Narrative
Respectability
Women’s entrepreneurship
Agency
Performance
Sociology and Social Anthropology
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/4073
work_keys_str_mv AT vanderheijdeningrid womenofsteelarticulationsofempowermentandlivelihoodpracticesinthedwarsrivervalleywesterncape