Gender struggles in contemporary South Africa: examining african women’s traditional spiritual roles in isiXhosa culture.
Loading...
Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Debates on how societies organise in contemporary ought to be inclusive of gender. As much as
these debates are not new, the gender discourse is escalating to levels never imagined. Discourses
on gender tackle and confront inequalities between males and females; and are manifested in
diverse traditional, cultural and religious practices across South Africa and the continent of Africa.
It is in such institutions and spaces that, in South Africa, most women continue to be marginalised
despite the attempts by the 1996 democratic government constitution, aimed at protecting human
rights and dignity, including that of women. Such embedded gender inequalities affect the way
of life of the African people because most women are no longer considered as the backbone of
society as it was prior colonisation. Thus, gender relations not only affect women’s dignity but
also undermine traditional spiritual protocols of amaXhosa, which often put women on the same
pedestal as men. It is within such context that thesis adopted African feminism, social
constructionist and intersectionality perspectives to examine roles that amaXhosa women in the
Eastern Cape play in traditional spirituality that guides their cultural practices, which are highly
patriarchal. The key objective of this research study was to examine traditional spiritual roles
played by African women in isiXhosa society, in South Africa. The study asked the key question:
What traditional spiritual roles are played by women in isiXhosa culture? The study used
qualitative research methods to discover traditional spiritual roles that women have in isiXhosa
society. Using one on one individual interviews, data was collected on traditional leadership roles,
traditional healing roles of diviners and faith healers, similarities in tasks performed by men and
women, and the impact of the roles women have in their communities. From qualitative data
analysis, the study found that some women have traditional spiritual roles, which make them at
the same equal footing as men. They play these roles as oodadobawo (senior sister with a status
higher than that of a male) Queen mothers, faith healers and prophets and sometimes wearing all
these “hats” depending on how gifted one is. However, the entrenchment of male-dominated
western systems in most African societies, including South Africa, play a huge role in extending
patriarchy, which contributed to pushing most African women to the margins and stripping them
of their traditional roles. That was done by making males leading figures in society, at home, in
the church, in state institutions etc. The study thus recommends that decolonised curricula focused
on traditional systems of organizing society is need and that gender policies should look at
traditional spirituality in its purest form to eradicate the evils of patriarchy.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.