Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Family Matters and the State: Policy and Everyday Life |
Authors: | Segar, J. White, C. |
Year: | 1992 |
Periodical: | Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa |
Issue: | 20 |
Pages: | 61-74 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | constitutional reform family women Women's Issues Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Politics and Government Law, Human Rights and Violence Family Life Cultural Roles Marital Relations and Nuptiality Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights Sex Roles |
External link: | https://d.lib.msu.edu/tran/200/OBJ/download |
Abstract: | It is not clear what form of 'the family' the ANC and other organizations in South Africa are assuming in their policy statemements on equal rights for men and women within the family in a future South Africa. The authors use material from other societies and epochs in order to show that particular State policies help to form and maintain particular family-based relationships in society. They argue that it is of great significance to the quality of everyday life just what kinds of policies governments adopt, whether they are directly designed to influence the shape of the family or not. This article first presents an overview of several assumptions about families and a description of the interplay between economic factors, State policy and family form in the countryside. Then it examines three variables that influence women's opportunities for relative autonomy: wages, social security, and housing and land policies. The conclusion is that family matters and State policy go hand in hand, which is contrary to the commonly held notion that the family and the form it takes is part of the private rather than the public arena. Bibliogr., notes. |