Alleviating the Womens Poverty in Rural South Africa - Essay Example

?Full Number: TA: Alleviating the Women’s Poverty: Effectiveness of Constitutional interventions 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, measured by the social welfare index, had been steadily declining since 1980s across the majority of South African countries. The government policies aimed at increasing trade openness and removal of economic discriminations against the rural markets have contributed largely to the improvement of national poverty statistics in these regions. Nevertheless the rural, urban and national poverty in countries such as Zimbabwe had been increasing till late 1990s (Sahn and Stifel, n. p.). 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, sever inequalities occur with respect to the distribution of benefits from recent economic developments and welfare programs across the economy (Okoji and Marais, n. p.). Majority of the poor, i.e. 70 percentage proportion of the total, in these regions are women. Gender, race and social class based discriminations discourage these individuals from accessing the productive economic resources (Chant 168). As a result, poverty related statistics in the region shows following distinguished characteristics; (1) poverty incident is high among 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 (Kehler). 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 172). Therefore UN agencies identify the importance of integrating poverty and gender in development programs and conceptualizing poverty models, by incorporating gender perspective. 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 62). 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 due to the mounting responsibilities in household. Therefore, inclusion of mental health programs in the national development policy agendas can significantly contribute to the wellbeing of women in these regions (Lund et. al., n. p.). In this essay I will argue that government policies inadequately address the thrust areas of poverty in South Africa. These thrust areas include (1) encouraging gender based “co-responsibilities” within family settings (2) removing inefficiencies in implementing the poverty alleviating programs, and (3) increased socio-economic vulnerabilities of poor due the contemporary global changes. Literature Review Various approaches are used for conceptualizing poverty. Example: social indicators are 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 are attitudes, needs and perception of social conditions, determinants of well-being are access to health, availability of shelter, education facilities, welfare and human rights. Income and consumption expenditure are inadequate indicators of women 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 174). Lacking of 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. Welfare indices of women’s poverty are linked with ownership of assets by the individuals. Set of the assets that significantly influence women’s poverty is identified based on the demographic characteristics of the communities. 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, n. p.). The determinants of poverty are highly location specific. Gender based discriminations relating to the accessing of productive resources and services are large contributors to the poverty prevailing in rural Africa. In a number of participatory appraisals women have revealed that lacking of active participation and support from men in socio-economic activities as a significant cause of psychological stress they experience which is also related to the poverty status (Chant, n. p.). The multiple roles women play example: as breadwinners, caretakers and child bearing, in the economy and mounting responsibilities adversely affect their psychological health. 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, n. p.). Active participation of men in family events and undertaking co-responsibilities within households can thus greatly motivate women and improve their wellbeing (Okoji, n. p.). Rural farming women in South Africa 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). As opposed to South Africa, gender based discrimination is not a significant cause of women’s poverty in other regions of the world such as the United States where high rate of out-of-wedlock births, contributes largely to the women’s poverty. In both these cases however, absence or unavailability of a male-counterpart is a common factor of household poverty (Small and Newman). 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 the variations occurring among women. Disaggregation data between male and female household heads inadequately identify the vulnerable groups among the poor. Policy attention has seldom been paid to differences among women, such as age and marital status. Example: women who never married in the economy are more advantaged compared to the widowed and divorced women and divorced women in old age are the most disadvantageous individuals with respect to assets ownership, accessing health facilities and obtaining membership of social organizations in South Africa. 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, n. p.). Recent economic developments in South African region only benefit certain social classes in the economy. Example: company profits increased by 26 percentage proportion of the national income in 2004 compared to 1993 while labor wages decreased from 57 percentage proportion to 52 percentage proportion during the same period (Marais n. p.). Poor in the economy experience increased burden due to lowering real wages and completion from globalization. Moreover, the corruptions occurring at the operational level obstacle welfare benefits from reaching the needy in society. Unless the governments improve the operational mechanisms and ensure that most of the benefits of poverty alleviating programs reach the poor in society, economic development of the South African region is unachievable (Okoji n. p.). Reforming land rights, asset ownership laws, improving agricultural productivity, increasing rural industries and women participation in policy making are important strategies for alleviating poverty in rural South Africa. 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, n. p.). 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, n. p.). 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 in rural South Africa. Integrating gender perspective with national development and addressing the issues of high vulnerability groups such as female headed households can largely contribute to alleviating poverty in South Africa. Removing the discriminations, encouraging active participation of men in family unit and enhancing the lawfulness and justice in the society are also important to improve the wellbeing of women. Works Cited Arber, Sara. “Gender, marital status, and ageing: Linking material, health, and social resources.” Journal of Aging Studies, 18 (2004): 91–108. Web. 20 May 2013. Chant, Sylvia. “The ‘Feminisation of Poverty’ and the ‘Feminisation’ of Anti-Poverty Programs: Room for Revision?” Journal of Development Studies, 44.2 (2008): 165–197. Web. 20 May 2013. Gill, Fother and Peek, Lori. “Poverty and Disasters in the United States: A Review of Recent Sociological Findings.” Natural Hazards, 32 (2004): 89-110. Web. 20 May 2013. Kehler, Johanna. “Women and Poverty: The South African Experience.” Journal of International Women's Studies, 3.1 (2001): 41-53. Web. 20 May 2013. Lund, C., A. Breen, A. J. Flisher, R. C. Kakuma, J. Josko, L. Swartz, L. and V. Patel. “Poverty and common mental disorders in low and middle income countries: A systematic review.” Social Science & Medicine, 71.3 (2010): 517-528 Marais, Hein. South Africa Pushed to the Limit, the Political Economy of Change. 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