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Perceptions of gender stratification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Pat Caplan
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Extract

In this article I consider gender as a form of stratification on the coast of East Africa, with specific reference to northern Mafia Island where I have carried out fieldwork between 1965 and 1967, and again in 1976 and 1985. I am interested in the way in which this has changed over the twenty-year period in which I have been observing this area.

Résumé

Perceptions de la stratification de sexe

Cet article considère le sexe comme forme de stratification sur le littoral de l'Afrique orientale, en se référant surtout à l'île septentrionale de Mafia. Selon des facteurs tels que la richesse, la propriété foncière, la profession et l'éducation, les femmes se trouvent défavorisées par rapport aux hommes. Il en est de même en ce qui concerne leur quantité de travail, leur accès à la nourriture, leur santé et le contrôle de leur propre fertilité. Cependant, il ne s'agit pas d'une subordination totale des femmes envers les hommes—les femmes sont relativement autonomes sur le plan economique, elles contrôlent en grande partie leur propre sexualité et jouent un rôle crucial dans les rites coutumiers (mila). Dans la dernière partie de l'article, je considère la manière dont les hommes et les femmes de Mafia perçoivent eux-mêmes les relations entre sexes et finalement, comment ma propre perception de ces gens s'est modifiée au cours de 20 années d'études, durant lesquelles d'importants changements ont eu lieu. L'article conclut que les relations entre sexes peuvent être à la fois assymétriques et complémentaires.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 59 , Issue 2: Social Stratification in Swahili Society , April 1989 , pp. 196 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1989

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