The impact of Coronavirus on the rural households headed by African women “breadwinners”: anthropological case study Of Mkhambathini in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
The literature surveyed for this study reveals that there is a gap in academia about studies on
rural African women breadwinners’ experiences during the Coronavirus pandemic. The study
was undertaken to investigate and understand the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on rural
African women and also to determine the strategies they used to cope during the era of the
pandemic. The study employed a qualitative research method and a case study design. Guided
by ethical considerations in research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from
30 African women between 20 to 60+ from KwaZulu Natal province, Pietermaritzburg in
Mkhambathini municipality that were recruited through the purposive and snowballing
sampling and the generated data is analysed thematically. The theoretical framework employed
in the study is family systems theory, social capital theory, and coping theory. The symbiotic
relationship of these theoretical frameworks revealed the impact of COVID-19 which is
nuanced and complex on African women in rural households. Secondly, the study revealed a
prevalent Eurocentric analysis of the experiences of rural communities especially rural African
women who are homogenized as if their lives are static. Narratives of rural women revealed
that they never felt intimidated by being breadwinners in their households. The study also
revealed that the impacts were felt differently by diverse women as some experienced more
hardships than others but they never gave in to marginalisation due to the impacts of the
pandemic. These women worked hard and used their agency to navigate the ramifications of
the pandemic by creatively starting businesses to navigate and escape the economic hardships
that came with Coronavirus pandemic as many of them lost their jobs or their working hours
curtailed. They also used creative financial management of the little money they received from
welfare funds, businesses, or pension funds to ensure resilience during this era of the pandemic.
Hence the recommendation of the thesis is the decolonisation of anthropological studies by
ensuring that studies about women especially the previously colonised and poor experience
social justice and are studied from within their own context and are not homogenised. The
recommendations propose that economic and welfare policies responses must be immediate
and consider the concerns of women.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.