Browsing by Author "Ncube, Nesisa Amanda"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Clash between Human Rights and Culture: Case Studies of South Africa and Zimbabwe
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Ncube, Nesisa Amanda; Gouws, Amanda; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Culture is an important aspect of African people’s lives. It informs the way in which communities are structured and how men and women relate to each other. In South Africa and Zimbabwe, looking specifically at the Zulu and Shona cultures respectively, culture is still seen as the anchor of people’s lives. This is seen mostly in the rural and semi-rural areas of these two countries, where the cultures are still respected and lived. Zimbabwe and South Africa are multicultural states who seek to recognise all religious and ethnic groups. Although culture is constitutionally protected, certain customs and traditions that violate the rights of women and girl children are still observed. These harmful cultural practices are in direct conflict with human rights resulting in these two concepts (human rights and culture) being treated as a binary. Certain cultural practices have led to gender inequalities more specifically in the private sphere, that is, the home, where customs and traditions are passed down from generation to generation. This thesis investigated what the perceptions of men and women are on human rights and culture and how their attitudes contributed to the acceptance or rejection of harmful cultural practices among Zulus in South Africa and Shonas in Zimbabwe. The harmful cultural practices (harmful as defined by international treaties) focused on virginity testing; ukuthwala in South African; early child marriage; and lobola in Zimbabwe. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to gather data. It was found that the respondents viewed ukuthwala (South Africa) and early child marriage (Zimbabwe) as customs that undermine human rights and, therefore, should be abolished. However, customs such as virginity testing and lobola were not seen as harmful although the respondents were able to point out negative aspects of these customs. Overall it was found that the respondents see human rights and culture as important and therefore live hybrid lives, where they attempt to find a balance between modernity and culture in their everyday lives. The women respondents recognised that their role in the home and in the community at large is continuously changing due to socio-economic changes giving them more room to exercise their agency. However, they still see culture as important supporting the notion of hybridity in a modern world, balancing culture and rights.