Chapter 4 Figure 4.1
5. ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY DATA 1 Introduction
5.1.5 Catchment implications for rural development
The majority of households in Mapholaneng have depended for their subsistence on the migrant wages or remittances. However, since 1987, a large number of households have had their migrant workers retrenched from work, especially from the South African Mines. This background information raises research questions such as' how will these retrenched households meet their life needs? What will be their source of income? The prevalence of larger households in the catchment is a crucial factor to their well-being and the issue of dependency in households. Large households with no viable means of production and currently faced with retrenchment from work in South African, experience socio-economic difficulties related to the provision of households needs.
There is a need to identify, develop and initiate land rehabilitation, conservation programmes and other viable alternatives for sustainable and productivity to enhance socio-economic activities to replace household income losses from the of Migrant labour System and the declining annual agricultural outputs.
5.2
Age and gender relations of householdsThe composition of rural households in terms of age and gender division, impacts on
many aspects of rural socio-economic organizations. For example, among the Basotho
people, the dependency relations between the junior and senior household members
have historically been reflected in many aspects of social life including the following:
o
children depend on parents for means of survival;o
dependence of adult males on parents for cattle for lobola and related marriage arrangements;o
dependence of household's females on males for provision of households requirements for subsistence; for example, traditional dependence of wives on their husbands for life needs;o
control by male parents over the labour use and proceeds of juniors and wives;o
The sample households in Mapholaneng catchment were researched in respect of age-groups and gender divisions between members to establish the following:o
to determine changes in dependency relations between age-groups and gender among households;o
to identify changes in gender dependency relations influenced by the migrant labour system;o
to obtain data from which to assess rural development.Table 5.2 shows urban and village differences in age -gender divisions among migrant households while Table 5.3 shows the same conditions in respect to non-migrant households, while Table 5.4 presents a summary combination revealing the overall conditions of age and gender divisions of the Mapholaneng catchment as a whole.
Table 5.2: Age and gender divisions of Migrant Sample households
Urban villages 24
Rural villages 11
Catchment-Total 35
42
27
37
38
27
34
58
64
60 46
36
43
46
82
57
46
82
57 42
73
51
25
45
31
Source: Fieldwork questionnaire survey, 1999
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Table 5.2 indicates that, both urban and rural migrant households have most of their household-members in the working age groups (31-50 and 18-30 yrs) at 62% and 56%
respectively, followed by the over 50 years old age groups (45%) and the infant age- group (39%). The proportion of females in all age groups and in all villages is either larger than that of males or equal but not less than males, indicating that Mapholaneng catchment has more females than males. Thus, for future rural development considerations, these findings may mean that the traditional subordination of women especially in respect to employment opportunities requires re-thinking. For instance, given the fact that some households have already lost their husbands or male bread winners in the mines of South Africa (Table 5.12) this fosters a need for rural women empowerment programmes that will enable rural women to realize their development potentials in initiating income generating activities for the subsistence of their households.
Table 5.3: Age and gender divisions of Non-Migrant sampled households
Urban villages 16 44 44 56 50 88 69 38 25
Rural villages 13 62 54 69 77 69 69 46 54
Catchment- 29 52 48 62 62 79 69 41 38
Total
Source. Fieldwork questionnaire survey, 1998-99
Table 5.3 shows that with the urban non-migrant households, the same pattern as with the migrant-households, whereby the majority of the households members are in the working age groups is still maintained. Moreover, the percentage proportion of females in all age groups seems to be relatively larger than that of males among most of the villages in the catchment.
Table 5.4: Age and gender divisions of all Catchment households
Urban 40 43 40 58 48 63 55 30 25
villages
Rural 24 46 42 67 58 75 75 58 50
villages
Catchment- 64 44 41 61 52 67 63 41 34
Tttal
Source: field work questionnaire survey, 1998-99
Table 5.4 shows that between 40% and 46% of urban and rural households respectively have young children up to 5 years old. While between 55% and 75% of urban and rural households respectively have members 31 to 50 years old, indicating that Mapholaneng catchment has a relatively higher percentage of working age groups than others.
However, when the very young dependants are combined with the old age group they constitute a relatively large dependency factor in households.
Given the present collapsing Migrant labour system on which many of these households have depended, it is highly likely that many working age household members without sustainable income generating sources will still have to maintain both young and old dependants with basic subsistence. Given the continuing decline in farm yields as a result of both natural physical factors of climate and socio-economic constraints facing the majority of rural farmers (Table 4.2, Chapter:2),many working age members of households face a difficult future if alternative employment to replace the losses of retrenchment is not made available.
Faced with the problem of unemployment and build- up of pressure for household requirements and survival needs, the danger exists that household members may
115 without choice resort to illegal means of earning a livelihood. It is a serious consideration that with the continuing retrenchment and impoverishment of rural conditions, Mapholaneng may soon experience increases in crime, robbery, theft and other violations of human rights as people will be forced to meet household basic requirements.
5.2.1 Changing patterns of household gender division of labour
Although traditionally Basotho communities were known to have reflected a social division of labour based on age and gender, the questionnaire survey conducted in Mapholaneng has shown that these traditional or cultural patterns of division of labour between women and men and between children and parents or between juniors and seniors are in transition, changing to accommodate modern conditions of labour that are based on skills, training, knowledge and experience.
For example, the historical socio-economic household roles that were traditionally the preserve of either men or female, are found to have changed and are continuing to change in Mapholaneng catchment. The example of this trend is that both children and parents now work for cash-income. Thus, the present 1999 study of gender and age relationships in Mapholaneng, reveals new dimensions of social change in respect to the following:
o
The socio-economic roles that were traditionally performed by men only, are now also done by women.o
Roles that were relegated only to parents or elders have also come to be performed by the children.o
Tables 5.5 and 5.6, show some of these age, gender and labour production relationships among households members in Mapholaneng that were dominant in the 1970's,Table 5.5: Historical age-gender division of labour in Mapholaneng Catchment in the 1970's
livestock ( cattle-economy) men elders; juniorsneededfor herding assistance
ploughing men elders;juniors helping
hoeinglweeding women e1ders-juniors helping;"matserila
" 0( community work-groups
harvesting women elders; juniors helping
storage men&women eldersonly
distribution men elders only
marketing ( raretrade ) men; women helping ek:Iers cultural values, norms, men& women ek:Iers ethics
household- head men elders
decision-making men ek:Iers
labourerl earner men ek:Iers
Source: Questionnaire survey data, Feb-March 1999
Based on the Basotho traditional principles founded on age and sex of individuals members. There was still a clear distinction between women's socio-economic roles and those of men and between juniors and senior members of households. The survey in Mapholaneng revealed that historically, social relations of productions among households revolved around the cattle which was traditionally a preserve of men only.
However, since junior members of households would in future require cattle for paying lobola for the procurement of wives, they in turn would be expected to provide services to the elders as herdsmen or to help in crop-farming. In such cases, parents had complete control over the labour power and the social up-bringing of their children.
Another observation, identified from studying conditions of age and gender based division of labour among households in Mapholaneng, is the fact that during the 1970's, cultivation of food-crops was basically a women's job although it had to be initiated first by men through carrying out the ploughing activities. Discussion with the respondents
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indicated that by the 1970's, trade or marketing of goods was still rare and when it did occur, it mainly consisted of the traditional barter trade between different households or exchanges in grain or livestock between different villages and was also organized and managed or controlled by elderly men. While Table 5.5, shows the prevailing conditions of the 1970's based on traditional Basotho production principles in which age and sex played a leading role in determining the rights and obligations of individuals in the rural communities and where old age or seniority was highly valued and respected, Table 5.6 shows contemporary changes since the 1980's on the division of labour between household members of different age categories and gender.
Table 5.6: Contemporary age-gender relations of division of labour in Mapholaneng in the 1980's and 1990's
livestock ( cattle- men & women elders & juniors economy)
ploughing( tilling of soil ) men & women old-age, young- women & children weeding/hoeing women& men old-men & women harvesting men & women old & young
storage men & women elders
distribution men & women both old and young marketing ( trade men & women, elders &
young/juniors cultural values, norms, Women & men elders ethics e.t.c
household-head men & women elders &
young=married decision-marking women & men elders & young(
cash-income) wage-earner men & women elders, seniors &
uniors
Source: questionnaire survey data, Feb.-March, 1999.
Table 5.6 depicts some of the main age-gender changes which have become evident since the 1980's in Mapholaneng Catchment. Traditional kinship and age-gender based relations of production among households members as well as among the whole rural community have changed over historic times. In most cases, basic changes have affected the traditional occupations which were formerly regarded as the monopoly of elders or of men alone.
For instance, ploughing the soil with cattle was formerly a man's activity, but recently it has faced changes, when the handling of cattle as inputs to agricultural production became a common practice for men women and the children.
In addition, the earning of wage income by both junior and female members of households has indeed represented a transformation in the traditional social division of labour. The earning of wage-income which historically was a territory of parents, especially of men alone, has also changed with the new labour developments whereby working for a wage income has become a natural right of both genders. However, what is of significance in relation to this thesis, is the resultant impacts of such age- gender changes on the rural relations of socio-economic bases of productive organizations.
From the discussions with some of the respondents from both rural and urban villages in Mapholaneng, it is pointed out that historic changes in age- gender relations of production are a result of the effects of the use of money in satisfying households needs.
One of the respondents commented that it was the earning of wage-income by our great grandparents from working on the farms and mines in South Africa, that first came to introduce Lesotho villages to the capitalist money economy. Moreover, some of the old- aged ex-migrants argued that it was between the 1830's and 1850's that the transformation of their subsistence agricUlture was brought about by the introduction of selling and of buying of agricultural products. Respondents emphasized commoditization of agriculture and creation of wage labour du ring the early 19th century, as major external forces that have shaped current changes in traditional division of labour between age and gender of household members. For example, colonial labour policies of hut
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