Women's access to housing in Clermont township.
Loading...
Date
1998
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Obtaining access to housing is the greatest hurdle for
women throughout the developed and the developing world.
However, this phenomenon varies from country to country,
and it is determined by the level of each country's
economical and technological development. Social and
political power relations of a country also play a crucial
role in determining who is to be provided with housing,
where and when. Patriarchal family structures and
government policies often marginalise women regarding their
access to housing. In South Africa during the period when the Nationalist
Party was in power (between 1948 and 1993), Black women
were prevented from obtaining access to housing in formal
urban townships. This was also the time when an influx of
Black people to urban areas was occurring. The government
responded by establishing mass housing for Black urban
workers, but under strict conditions, which excluded women.
The marginalisation of women in housing delivery resulted
in many of them taking jobs where accommodation was
provided such as nursing and domestic service.
Clermont township was established in the 1930s, during the
years of rapid industrial development in South Africa. Due
to availability of African-owned housing, which could be
rented privately in Clermont, many industrial workers
particularly women were able to find accommodation there.
This trend continued, until the Nationalist Party
government extended the right to rent housing in all
townships to women. This occurred in the late 1970s.
A case study of Clermont, (a township characterised by a
freehold tenure), was undertaken to investigate the
position of women in housing development, and how changes
in the political situation have affected their access to
housing. This thesis reveals that the number of
households headed by women in Clermont township exceeds
those headed by their male counterparts (53 per cent of
women compared to 47 per cent of men in the sample). These
women were mainly renters rather than house owners. Some
of them implemented alternative strategies to access
housing despite their low incomes, insecure jobs and the
prevailing government restrictions. These strategies
include illegal occupation of land (land invasion) owned by
the state (nearby Clermont) and land owned by individual
people in Clermont township. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) , which
is the socio-economic policy framework of the Government of
National Unity (elected in 1994), 'identified the provision
of housing as a priority area. There are many programmes
that have been implemented by this government in order to
increase the housing access for women. It is unfortunate
that these new programmes many not be accessible to some
women, as most are still caught in a web of unemployment.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.
Keywords
Women, black--Housing--KwaZulu-Natal--Clermont., Women, black--KwaZulu-Natal--Clermont--Social conditions., Housing policy--KwaZulu-Natal--Clermont., Theses--Geography.