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The ethics of human The ethics of human development as development as
transformationtransformationIIDE conference: “Emerging perspectives on the
ethics of development and transformation”. Bloemfontein. 17 September 2008.
landmc@unisa.ac.za
Prof. Christina Landman
Ethical practices in deconstructing Ethical practices in deconstructing religious and cultural discoursesreligious and cultural discourses
Research – development - transformation
Development is Development is
1 Securing health systems2 Securing social systems3 Establishing recreation facilities4 Enhancing moral fabric5 Stimulating enterpreneurship6 Protecting the environmentTo add7 Shifting mind sets
Michelangelo’s David after two Michelangelo’s David after two years on exhibition in New York...years on exhibition in New York...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City were delighted to welcome Michelangelo's sculpture of David for a two year "all American" exhibition After a two year visit to the United States , Michelangelo's David is returning to Italy . .
His Proud Sponsors were:
From: Olivier, DavidSent: 10 September 2008 11:24 AMTo: "heinb@agrinet.co.za".mime.Mime; E Nell; Annamarie; bfineberg@mweb.co.za; Buys, Bets; N J Coetzee; 'Danie.Veldsman@up.ac.za'; Diepraam, Friena (GPSAC); Dolamo, Ramathate; Ebeling, Rainer; Elbie, Maria Van den Berg; Nell, Elsabe; Fouche, Nonnie; Badenhorst, François; Groenewald, Marcelle; Gundani, Paul; internet:wolfaardtja@telkomsa.net; Wood, Hannelie; Vorster, Johannes; Kritzinger, Johannes; Landman, Christina; Louise@konkie.co.za; magda@wmsarchitects.co.za; Cloete, Michael; Millie Viljoen; Muir, Nan; olivierjj@gmail.com; OlivierM@nbc.co.za; Patricia Smit; Botha, Pieter; Craffert, Pieter; I J J Spangenberg; stols, anita; Van Niekerk, Erasmus; van Winsen, Henrietta; Verbeek, Rudi; Boshoff, Willem; Willemse, MJSubject: FW: The return of DAVID ...
Ethical practices in shifting Ethical practices in shifting people’s minds...people’s minds...
A discourse is a grand narrative that is believed by a majority of a society and has consequences for the development of people whether it is “true” or not.
Religious discourse: God has made man to rule over woman
Cultural discourse: Aids is caused by having sex within 6 months after your parents died
Deconstructing discoursesDeconstructing discourses
Deconstruction meansShifting the discourse from harmful to
healthy (in the language of counselling)Shifting the discourse from trapping people
in underdevelopment to transforming them towards development
Discourses trapping human Discourses trapping human developmentdevelopment
The faces of the problem:
Three research populations:1 Patients at Kalafong (“township”)2 Farm labourers in Hoedspruit (“rural”)3 University students (“urbanised”)
Research populationsResearch populations
1 Patients at Kalafong Hospital
75% black (variety of cultures)74% women97% Christian – more than half belong to
born-again churches52% unemployed (others minimum inc)
““Township” problemsTownship” problems
Problems that keep patients from developing their potential
1 Losses2 Loneliness3 Lack of moneyDiscourses strengthening these problems:1 Power discourses 2 Body discourses3 Identity discourses4 Otherness discourses
Religio-cultural discourses Religio-cultural discourses identified by patients as harmfulidentified by patients as harmful
Illness/misfortune is caused by bewitchment
Illness is caused by GodIllness is caused by SatanAids is caused by a virusMedicine alone can make you healthyOnly prayer can make you healthy
Power discoursesPower discourses
The church says divorce is sinGod purifies me through punishmentDreams are divine visitations/warningsThe pastor said my child died because we do
not give enough money to the church.My pastor said my depression was a bad spirit.I am a man and God has made me so (to beat
my wife)My mother must listen to me. I am the man in
the house
More power discoursesMore power discourses
No marriage without lobolaBeing gay is sinfulThe belongings of a deceased man belong
to his family and not to his widowA woman who does not want sex, is a witchTradition forbids that a man cries for his
still-born babyThe sangoma has placed a spell on me to
make my husband think I am useless
Body discoursesBody discourses
More than half of the women who came for counselling were severely beaten by their partners
• I was not raised to say no• Adoption is a sin against the forefathers• Abortion is a sin (more than half of the
women reporting for abortion were 35+)• Masturbation is not for a real man (Don’t
you think I can get a partner?!)
Identity discoursesIdentity discourses
My church does not allow me to use medicine
My church only provides for families, and I am single.
My church says I am evil because I am gay.
My church says I must accept God has made me a woman/poor
Because I was raped, I am a bad woman
Gender identity, moral Gender identity, moral identityidentity
A good Christian woman does not work or speak to the neighbour
A good Christian man must have a house and be the breadwinner
My mother told me to pretend to be stupid in order to get a good husband
I must have a child before twenty: If I die without children, I shall not be buried
Otherness discoursesOtherness discourses
My church claims that it is HIV freeIf you wear traditional clothes, you will be
cured from AIDSI think my husband is HIV positive, but
God does not want me to deny himMy son was killed with a cork opener
because of the jealousy of the ancestorsThe pastor has prophesied that my child,
who committed suicide, is not in heaven
2 Farm labourers, Hoedspruit2 Farm labourers, Hoedspruit
180 interviews40% male, 60% femaleExtremely poor (R500 per month)First 40 interviewed belonged to 23
churches)20% illiterate, 40% can write their namesShangaan and Pedi (all migrants)
ConnieConnie
Abused womanDesperately poorMigrantNo transportNo access to state protectionRendered powerless by the gender
constructs of her faith/culture
JohnnieJohnnie
PoorMigrantIlliterateHIV status unclearExposed to the cultural discourse that
Aids is caused by bewitchment and/or God’s punishment
Exposed to religious discourses that render him powerless/voiceless
How do the churches deal with How do the churches deal with beatings?beatings?
• All farm workers interviewed are in an intimate relationship except 5men/5women (widows, baruthi, one man who said he was a virgin).
• Shame to be without a relationship.• 100% of interviewees reacted against
masturbation – “Do you think I cannot find a partner?”
• Beatings:53 women reported physical abuse12 men confessed to beating their partners
BeatingsBeatings
Third of relationships are physically abusive (women beaten)
One man said: “I beat my girl friend. That is normal. She beats me back. That is normal.”
“He slaps me that I can wake up. He does not beat me till there is blood.”
“I beat her because she did not respect me. She confessed she made a mistake”.
Reactions to beatingsReactions to beatings
Only 2 of the women who were beated ran away from their partners:
“My boyfriend beats me. I have been with him for 19 years. I love him. He is married. I shall not leave him. It is not a sin to have a married boyfriend, because I am not married.”
Indigenous handling of beatingsIndigenous handling of beatings
IndunaFamilyNo police90% of women indicated that they go to
the church for healing, but not for intimate violence
Teachings on gender relationsTeachings on gender relations
“When there is conflict in your relationship, do not beat your wife. Teach her what the Bible says about an obedient wife”.
“Correct her according to the Bible”.“You may not divorce your husband even
when he beats you”. The government has given too many
rights to women
Conflicting discoursesConflicting discourses
A prevalence study indicated that 28,8% of the farm workers in the Hoedspruit area are HIV positive
Teachings on condoms etcTeachings on condoms etc
Baruthi teach that condoms are sin and against God’s will, while more than 80% of the farm workers indicate that they think condoms are good. (“The Lord will condomise you”)
Baruthi teach that circumcision is bad, while more than 70% of the farm workers indicate that they think it is good. (“Circumcision is bad. You suffer a lot, and you don’t even get a certificate for it”.)
Church and HIV/AidsChurch and HIV/Aids
The baruthi interviewed all indicated that they are able to heal HIV/Aids
85% of the interviewees indicated that they believe that the church can heal HIV/Aids
The baruthi felt that the government should compensate them for healing HIV/Aids
Further indigenous reactionsFurther indigenous reactions
Call in community to help solve problemCall indunaCall family(But don’t call police)Two of the younger women (teenagers, new
generation) said that if their partners would beat them, they would call the police
Do not go to baruthi for healing of intimate relationships
33rdrd Research Population Research Population
Students held captive by unhealthy discourses keeping them from transformation:
1 Discourses on gender, race and sexual identities
2 Discourses on how to deal with their present suffering
3 They are part of a society “who is not free to be moral” in terms of the discourses of church and politics
MEET processMEET process
Ethical practices in deconstructing discourses:
Mapping the past: from problem-saturated to indigenous healing
Externalising the problemEmpowerment against the problem from
indigenous knowledgeThickening the alternative story
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