Women's Poverty in Rural South Africa - Essay Example

?Full Number: TA: Discriminated Access to Resources and women's poverty in Rural South Africa Introduction Poverty is defined as the “inability of individuals, households or entire communities to command sufficient resources to satisfy a socially acceptable minimum standard of living” (May 5). Poverty incident as measured by the social welfare index steadily declines in the South African region since 1980s. The government policies aimed at increasing international trade and removing economic discriminations against the rural markets largely contributed to the improvement of national poverty statistics in these Nevertheless the rural, urban and national poverty in some countries such as Zimbabwe and Nigeria are increasing (Sahn and Stifel, 2000). Majority of the poor, i.e. 70 percentage proportion of the total in South African region are women. Gender, race and social class based discriminations disable them from accessing the productive economic resources (Chant, 2008). As a result, poverty statistics show following distinguished characteristics; (1) majority of the poor category comprises of female labors, “female lead” households and children of “female lead” families (2) extreme poverty and persisting poverty incidents are high among the women, and (3) women find lifting out from the status of poverty, more difficult compared to the men (Kehler, 2001). Studies reveal that children raised in poor households prove to have a higher probability of repeating the cycles of poverty and disadvantage. The prominence of female-headed households among the poorer sections of society is increasing (Chant, 2008). The importance of integrating poverty alleviating and gender across equity in national development programs is thus well established. Current essay examines the poverty alleviating government policies which are aimed at 1) encouraging gender based “co-responsibilities” within family settings in South Africa. Literature Review The World Bank poverty statistics reveal that socioeconomic standards in the South African region are still far below the world averages despite the temporal improvement recorded in poverty statistics. Example: out of 10 million rural households in Nigeria, almost 8.4 million fall under the extreme poverty (Okoji, 2001). Furthermore, the child and maternal mortality rates in South Africa had been increased since early 1990s. The life expectancy in 2008 had been 12 years lower than in 1996. Common fatal illnesses prevailing among the rural poor include AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics. Studies also reveal that there is a positive correlation between the status of poverty and occurrence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) in Low and Middle Income countries. Poor women in rural areas are highly vulnerable to these psychological health issues (Lund et. al., 2010). The key government interventions aimed at reducing poverty in South Africa can be listed as (a) increasing food and nutrition availability, (b) improving Social Services, (c) strengthening rural banking systems and (d) creating employment opportunities. Such government policies and the mainstream constitutional framework prevailing in South African region have been acknowledged as satisfactory by the World Bank. However women’s poverty is increasing. Various approaches are used to conceptual poverty. Example: social indicators such as income levels, consumption expenditures, and housing standards (water source, toilet facilities, construction materials and durables; ownership of radio, television, refrigerator, bicycle, motorcycle and/or car) subjective indicators such as attitudes, needs and perceptions and determinants of well-being such as access to health, availability of shelter, education facilities, welfare and human rights. However income and consumption expenditure are considered as inadequate measurements for measuring women’s poverty. In contemporary societies women’s social position is resembled by the legal, political, cultural and religious freedom they experience. Hence women’s poverty is not primarily determined by lower incomes. It is rather associated with inadequate access to resources, lack of political rights, limited social options and greater vulnerability to risks and crises (Chant, 2008). Therefore a new research area named “feminization of poverty” had been identified. Restricted access to land and credit, decision-making power, legal rights within the family, vulnerability to violence, self- respect and dignity also constitute the feminization of poverty. However, the general welfare models and statistics of poverty do not resemble the variations across gender, race and class in these communities. Hence, the temporal declining of poverty may not reveal the actual picture of the issue (Sahn & Stifel, 2000). The determinants of poverty are highly location specific. In rural South African countries gender based discriminations relating to access to the productive resources and services is a significant determinant factor of poverty. Farming women are in a disadvantageous position when accessing the productive resources and opportunities in the society. Such disadvantages are attributed to the cultural beliefs (perceptions, expectations and attitudes) and sexual division of labor (example: certain categories of work are not accessible to the woman and women labors receive a low payment for the same task compared to male labors). A number of participatory appraisals also revealed that lacking of active participation and support from men in socio-economic activities as a significant cause of psychological stress women experience in these countries (Chant, 2008). The multiple roles women play such as breadwinners, caretakers and child bearing, in the economy and mounting responsibilities adversely affect women’s psychological health and contribute to the poverty. As opposed to South Africa, gender based discrimination is not a significant cause of women’s poverty in some other regions of the world. Example: in the United States high rate of out-of-wedlock births largely associated with the women’s poverty. In both countries however, absence of male-counterpart is a common issue (Small and Newman, 2001). Diversification and intensification of women’s inputs to household survival while stasis or diminution of men’s inputs, persistent and/or growing disparities in women’s and men’s capacities to negotiate obligations and entitlements in households and increasing disarticulation between investments/responsibilities and rewards/ rights can be listed as some of the key issues related to the burden and poverty felt by women (Chant, 2008). Active participation of men in family events and undertaking co-responsibilities within households can motivate (Okoji, 2001). Within the category of women discern patterns of poverty can be observed with respect to the marital status and age of the individuals. Therefore, poverty related data needs to be further disaggregated based on such predictors. Disaggregation of poverty statistics between male and female household heads inadequately identifies the vulnerable groups among the poor. Policy attention has seldom been paid to differences among the women, such as age and the marital status. Example: women who never married are more advantaged compared to the widowed and divorced women. Divorced women in old age are the most disadvantageous category with respect to assets ownership, accessing health facilities and obtaining membership of social organizations. Never married women’s category is advantaged in these aspects because they receive higher direct and indirect forms of support from family members and the society (Arber and Ofstedal, 2004). Recent economic developments in South African region only benefit certain social classes in the economy. Example: company profits have increased by 26 percentage proportion of the national income in 2004 compared to 1993 and labor wages have decreased from 57 percentage proportion to 52 percentage proportion during the same period (Marais, 2010). Poor in the economy experience increased burden from inflation and competition from globalization. Moreover, the corruptions occurring at the operational level obstacle welfare benefits from reaching the needy in the society. Unless the governments improve the operational mechanisms and ensure that most of the benefits of poverty alleviating programs reach the poor in the society, economic development of the South African region is unachievable (Okoji, 2001). Reforming land rights, asset ownership laws, improving agricultural productivity, increasing rural industries and women participation in policy making are important strategies obtaining national developmental goals. Female labor and female lead families also face increased socio-economic vulnerabilities due the contemporary global changes. Example: the World Bank’s policy of privatizing the public services, reducing the government funding for social welfare programs and the globalization of the labor markets adversely affect the unskilled labor category of women in South African countries (Kehler, 2001). South Africa is identified as a focal point to the climate changes which can adversely affect the agricultural production, livelihood of farmers and the sustainability of agro-ecological systems. Rural farmers face a high vulnerability to natural disasters due to the disadvantageous characteristics of their dwellings (place, type of residence, building materials and construction) and social exclusion (Gill and Peek, 2004). Conclusions Based on the concepts of women’s poverty and review of the research literature it can be concluded that current policy framework contains several drawbacks in alleviating poverty among the women in rural South Africa. Integrating gender perspective with national development and addressing the issues of high vulnerability groups such as female headed households is important. Removing the discriminations, encouraging active participation of men in family unit and enhancing the lawfulness and justice in the society can also contribute to the economic development of rural communities in South Africa. Works Cited Arber, S. (2004). Gender, marital status, and ageing: Linking material, health, and social resources.” Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 91–108. Chant, S. (2008). The ‘Feminisation of Poverty’ and the ‘Feminisation’ of Anti-Poverty Programs: Room for Revision?. Journal of Development Studies, 44(2), 165–197. Gill, F. and Peek, L. (2004). Poverty and Disasters in the United States: A Review of Recent Sociological Findings. Natural Hazards, 32, 89-110. Kehler, J. (2001). Women and Poverty: The South African Experience. Journal of International Women's Studies, 3(1), 41-53. Lund, C., A. Breen, A. J. Flisher, R. C. Kakuma, J. Josko, L. Swartz, L. and Patel, V. (2010) . Poverty and common mental disorders in low and middle income countries: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 71(3), 517-528 Marais, H. (2010). South Africa Pushed to the Limit, the Political Economy of Change. Claremont: UCT Press. May, J. (Ed.). (2000). Poverty and Inequality in South Africa: Meeting the Challenge. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers. Ofstedal, M. B., E. Reidy, and J. Knodel. “Gender differences in economic support and well-being of older Asians.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 19.3 (2004): 165–201. Print. Okoji, Maurice Akpan. “Rural Women and Poverty in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.” Atlantis, a Women’s Studies Journal, 25.2 (2001): n. p. Web. 20 May 2013 Sahn David and David Stifel. “Poverty Comparisons over Time and Across Countries in Africa.” World Development, 28. 12 (2000): 2123-2155. Print. Small, Mario Luis and Katherine Newman. “Urban Poverty After The Truly Disadvantaged : The Rediscovery of the Family, the Neighborhood, and Culture.” Annual Review of Sociology, 27(2001): 23-25. Web. 20 May 2013. Read More