Re-engineering of the socialisation process for gender mainstreaming in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa continues to suffer from patriarchal domination and its negative consequences which carry on stifling and abrogating the impact of the transformation gains already made since the new political dispensation in 1994. The absence of clear and targeted plans and programmes at micro-level (individual, family, school and community) to fundamentally change the mind-set of men on gender equity, human rights and social justice for women continue to be just a pipedream in South Africa. As a result, gender roles and gender-based violence continues to haunt South Africa despite its grand policies and strategies. This article calls for a surgical operation of the heart of the patriarchal ideology through the use of African languages to re-engineer the socialisation process in order to bring about a fundamental gender transformation of the South African society.

Keywords: Gender Mainstreaming, Gender Equality, Gendered Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Patriarchy, Ideology, Social Justice, Policy, Strategy