Feminism in South Africa

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Thirteen Hours: Feminism in South Africa
The issue of feminism and gender equality has for a long time lingered in the minds of many women especially in contemporary South Africa. Women have struggled over the years in an attempt to attain political and cultural identity with varying degrees of success and failure. In general, women in many countries African countries have relentlessly fought for their rights, and they continue to fight against gender discriminatory practices such as unfair exclusion and control even in affairs that directly affect them. Nevertheless, the main stumbling block is attributed to the African cultures since a vast majority of them view feminism as inferior in relation to masculinity. In addition, most of these cultures hold strong beliefs with regard to gender specific roles. Many are restrictive to women’s roles since they define the position of women as simply being mothers and wives and thus, the issue of gender equality continues to be a major challenge.
Not surprisingly enough, the South African culture portrays men as being dominant over women. Women are portrayed as inferior to men and are expected to submit to their husbands. Moreover, this culture dictates that women are dependent on men and cannot survive independently. Years have gone by and many Africans are now literate. However the perception of men being greater than women seems to have a strong foothold in Africa. There are a few women who have liberated themselves but face constant opposition and hatred from fellow women who are enslaved to some blind African culture. In the book Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer, the struggles women go through in their quest and endeavor to find equality is clearly brought to light. For instance, Mbali Kaleni is considered weird and unacceptable simply because she is independent on her life and has worked hard not to rely on men. By going against the expectations of the society, this character ...