Gender and the political economy of health and health care of women with reference to African women in the Natal/Zululand region.
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Date
1990
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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is two-fold: it attempts to develop a feminist theory of
health and health care of women and moves beyond the political economy theory of
health and health care grounded in Marxist principles. Secondly, it attempts to
apply these feminist theoretical principles, incorporating the methodology of
historical materialism, to a specific historical situation - that of African women in
Natal/Zululand in the nineteenth century.
The thesis is divided into three parts. The first provides an overview of the political
economy of health and the Marxist theory on which it is based. The second section
deals specifically with feminist theoretical concerns: particularly the need to
incorporate the concept of gender and the sexual division of labour into analysis of
the position of women in society. In addition, it focusses on women's particular
health needs and attempts to incorporate these into a feminist theory of health and
health care. The third part examines the health and health care of African women
in pre-colonial Natal/Zululand by focussing on their role in procreation and
production, and changing health patterns and health care under colonial rule.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1990.
Keywords
Women--Health and hygiene., Women, Black--Health and hygiene--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Gender studies.