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Empowered women, social networks and the contribution of qualitative research: broadening our understanding of underlying causes for food and nutrition insecurity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

S Lemke ,
HH Vorster ,
NS Jansen van Rensburg  and
J Ziche
S Lemke*
Affiliation:
Center for International Development and Environmental Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Otto-Behaghel-Strasse 10, D-35394 Giessen, Germany
HH Vorster
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, Potchefstroom University, South Africa
NS Jansen van Rensburg
Affiliation:
School of Social Studies, Potchefstroom University, South Africa
J Ziche
Affiliation:
Department of Rural Sociology, Center of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan, Germany
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objective:

To investigate underlying causes for food and nutrition insecurity in black South African households and to gain understanding of the factors contributing to better nutrition security, with emphasis on household organisation, gender and intra-household dynamics and social networks.

Design, setting and subjects:

Within a larger cross-sectional survey that investigated the impact of urbanisation on the health of black South Africans, 166 people, mostly women, were interviewed on household food security. Methods used were structured face-to-face interviews, in-depth interviews, observation, interviews with key informants and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Information was collected from 1998 to 2000 in 15 rural and urban areas of the North West Province, South Africa.

Results:

Three-quarters of households in this sample are chronically food-insecure. Families are disrupted, due to migrant work, poverty and increasing societal violence, and half of households are female-headed. Certain categories of female-headed households and households based on partnership relationships, despite more limited resources, achieve a better or an equal economic status and better nutrition security than those households led by men, with the latter often being considered an economic liability. The reliance on and fostering of social ties and networks appear to be of central significance.

Conclusion:

Gender and intra-household relations, as well as social networks and income from informal sector activities, are often not uncovered by conventional statistical methods. Qualitative research can reveal the unexpected and furthermore empowers people, as their voices are heard.

Keywords

Food and nutrition insecurityGender and intra-household relationsEmpowermentSocial networksQualitative research
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 8 , December 2003 , pp. 759 - 764
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2003

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