Browsing by Subject "fatherhood"
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- ItemOpen AccessExploring the influence of intlawulo on father Involvement among Xhosa speaking black South African fathers raised and living in Cape Town(2020) Samukimba, Jill Chidisha; Moore, ElenaStudies on African fatherhood represent African fathers as problematic and in South Africa, they are identified as ‘‘emotionally disengaged, physically absent, abusive and do not pay for their children's upkeep'' (Morrell & Ritcher, 2006:81). Many studies link the high rates of absent fathers to poverty and irresponsibility. Such literature is devoid of cultural factors that might be contributing to the high rates of absent fathers in most African communities. Across Southern Africa, intlawulo, a customary practice that involves the paying of a fine by a man responsible for impregnating a woman out of wedlock and his family to the pregnant woman's family. Historically, intlawulo served as a critical means of regulating and mediating unmarried fathers' involvement in their children's lives. Therefore, this explorative qualitative research project explores African fathers' experiences of intlawulo and its subsequent links to father involvement. To gauge their experiences and interpretation of intlawulo and father involvement, I conducted face-to-face in-depth qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of 8 black Xhosa speaking South African fathers from Cape Town who have gone through the intlawulo negotiations for the past five years or less. This study aimed to explore how the customary practice of intlawulo or ‘paying damages' influences a father's involvement in his child's life in Khayelitsha, an urban township within Cape Town. It argued that the payment of intlawulo regulates a father's involvement in childrearing, his interaction with and access to his child. In contrast to how fathering has been described in previous literature, this thesis argues that becoming a father is a process and intlawulo is the entry point where it can be denied, stopped and negotiated.
- ItemOpen AccessExploring the Meaning of Fatherhood in Guguletu(2013-10) UCT Knowledge Co-opThis was a study conducted by a Gender Studies Honours student who collaborated with the NGO Ikamva Labantu in Guguletu. The NGO was interested in understanding men's involvement as fathers and what support they needed for this role. The aim of the study was two fold: - to explore the experiences of fathers who were permanently involved in their children's lives, and - to unpack how fatherhood is practiced in South Africa This was done by examining how these men assumed their role, how their experiences were shaped, the demands that follow fatherhood, and highlighting some of the support structures they relied on in times of hardships.
- ItemOpen AccessMasculinities and fatherhood in a South African context: exploring Xhosa men's experiences of fatherhood and ideas about masculinities(2013-10) Bongwana, ThembelihleThis is a qualitative study that explores meanings around fatherhood among Xhosa fathers in Cape Town. In so doing, the dissertation goes on to explore attitudes, beliefs, and needs of these township fathers have with regards to taking care of their children. This is a descriptive and exploratory qualitative study which was conducted with a sample of 4 Xhosa fathers. Responses around fathering clustered into the following themes: challenging notions of nurturing as women's roles, changing patterns in fatherhood, fatherhood as a process, multiple ways of fathering, communal and familial support structures, and deviation from ‘traditional' norms and ‘traditional' ideas around fathering. The fathers in this study identified a number of benefits and opportunities to being good fathers who were actively involved in their children's lives.
- ItemOpen Access'We are actually raising South Africans''. Raising immigrant families: The parenting experiences of Zimbabweans in South Africa(2019) Finos, Shuvai T.; Tame, BiancaSouth Africa is the most popular international destination for Zimbabwean migrants escaping the economic crisis of their country. It has been estimated that by 2016, one and a half million Zimbabwean nationals were living in South Africa. However, little research explores the lived experience of Zimbabweans in South Africa in the context of family. This is despite scholars highlighting an increase in family migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa in recent years. This study explores the parenting experiences of immigrant Zimbabwean parents raising their children in South Africa. Specifically, it investigates the ways in which raising children in a different country and cultural context influences parents’ understanding of and approaches to parenting. Nine Zimbabwean mothers and fathers living with their spouses and children in Cape Town participated in a qualitative study, with semi-structured interviews. Data was collected and analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that the participants’ overarching experience of parenting was that they were ultimately raising ‘South Africans’. Participants framed their children’s ‘South African-ness’ positively, identifying the children as cosmopolitan and empowered, which they celebrated. However, they also lamented the children’s loss of identity as the most problematic aspect of ‘South African-ness’. To navigate the resultant tensions, participants relaxed some of their existing beliefs while simultaneously implementing measures to reinforce some non-negotiable values and beliefs in their children. This dissertation argues that while parents’ understanding of parenting is strongly rooted in their cultural background and values, they adapt their parenting styles and practices according to what they calculate will enable their families to thrive. The study adds to the body of knowledge on immigrant Zimbabwean families who have become part of South African society. This is especially relevant in light of the South African government’s laudable initiatives towards regularising the stay of Zimbabweans in South Africa, such as the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) of 2009 and its successive permits. This study can therefore contribute to the body of knowledge that informs the ways in which South Africa can continue to respond to the reality of migration from Zimbabwe.