An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape

dc.contributor.advisorWinkler, Tanja
dc.contributor.authorSigwela, Noziphiwo Margaret
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-10T08:01:57Z
dc.date.available2024-09-10T08:01:57Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2024-09-10T08:00:00Z
dc.description.abstractThis study aims to unpack the planning strategies employed by women who live on communal lands in the rural regions of the Eastern Cape. In South Africa, traditional leaders are the custodians of communal lands. Their patriarchal nature tends to negate gender equalities as envisaged and prescribed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa through the Bill of Rights. As a result of this patriarchal nature, women find themselves having to navigate spaces which are embedded with customary laws that continue to uplift the status of men over women. The study investigates how women in communal areas access land, deal with social and economic vulnerabilities and, most of all, how they add their voices to the planning and public decision making processes of their communities. Unequal gender relations and structural inequalities are brought to light by means of the research findings presented in this dissertation. Women's involvement public decision making processes is studied in other academic fields, including in politics, anthropology and sociology. However, such studies are not as extensively in the planning field, specifically with respect to planning in rural areas. Planning in South Africa is understood as a study that tends, more often than not, to focus on cities rather than on rural contexts (as research findings demonstrate). The research method employed in this study is the case study research method, and Cala, which is located on communal lands and which falls within the political jurisdiction of the Sakhisizwe Local Municipality, is the case under study. An in depth investigation of the following themes (in turn, resulted in the establishment of subsidiary research questions) is presented in the subsequent chapters: feminism and black feminism; the South African Constitution; the Traditional Authority Act; the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act; communal lands; and lessons from Kenya and Tanzania. Research findings demonstrate a mismatch between the legislation and everyday practices found in Cala. Women are still finding it difficult to navigate traditional spaces. They do not have enough representation in planning and public decision making structures, and, as a result, they remain disadvantaged. In response, planning policy recommendations are presented in the final chapter
dc.identifier.apacitationSigwela, N. M. (2021). <i>An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape</i>. (). ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSigwela, Noziphiwo Margaret. <i>"An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape."</i> ., ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSigwela, N.M. 2021. An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape. . ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sigwela, Noziphiwo Margaret AB - This study aims to unpack the planning strategies employed by women who live on communal lands in the rural regions of the Eastern Cape. In South Africa, traditional leaders are the custodians of communal lands. Their patriarchal nature tends to negate gender equalities as envisaged and prescribed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa through the Bill of Rights. As a result of this patriarchal nature, women find themselves having to navigate spaces which are embedded with customary laws that continue to uplift the status of men over women. The study investigates how women in communal areas access land, deal with social and economic vulnerabilities and, most of all, how they add their voices to the planning and public decision making processes of their communities. Unequal gender relations and structural inequalities are brought to light by means of the research findings presented in this dissertation. Women's involvement public decision making processes is studied in other academic fields, including in politics, anthropology and sociology. However, such studies are not as extensively in the planning field, specifically with respect to planning in rural areas. Planning in South Africa is understood as a study that tends, more often than not, to focus on cities rather than on rural contexts (as research findings demonstrate). The research method employed in this study is the case study research method, and Cala, which is located on communal lands and which falls within the political jurisdiction of the Sakhisizwe Local Municipality, is the case under study. An in depth investigation of the following themes (in turn, resulted in the establishment of subsidiary research questions) is presented in the subsequent chapters: feminism and black feminism; the South African Constitution; the Traditional Authority Act; the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act; communal lands; and lessons from Kenya and Tanzania. Research findings demonstrate a mismatch between the legislation and everyday practices found in Cala. Women are still finding it difficult to navigate traditional spaces. They do not have enough representation in planning and public decision making structures, and, as a result, they remain disadvantaged. In response, planning policy recommendations are presented in the final chapter DA - 2021 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Architecture, Planning and Geomatics LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2021 T1 - An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape TI - An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSigwela NM. An investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape. []. ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2021 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40540en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.subjectArchitecture, Planning and Geomatics
dc.titleAn investigation into the role of women in the spatial planning and development of their settlements that are under the custodianship of traditional leaders: A case study of Cala in Sakhisizwe Municipality, Eastern Cape
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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