GENDER GEOGRAPHY IN SOUTH AFRICA: FACING CHALLENGES AND EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and opportunities facing gender geography generally and the specific concerns relating to asserting the need for gender geography in South Africa. The issues of interest are mainly two: Why is it important to engender geography thinking and research in South Africa? What are the current trends and issues of interest in gender geography in South Africa? An additional thematic concern is the importance of gender geographers in South Africa to assert their identities, realities and visions in the field of gender geography that has been largely influenced by Western experiences and thinking. The intention of this effort is not to negate or dismiss these contributions but to begin to debate and articulate the need to develop concepts, explanations and definitions pertinent to gender issues that centralise the experiences and concerns of people, especially women, in South Africa. While by no means exhaustive, this contribution intends to provide a brief overview of gender geographical research being undertaken as well as raise critically the key challenges facing gender geography in South Africa.