Belittled Peasants at Gqumahashe Village, Alice District

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate why female peasants at Gqumahashe are undervalued although farming is currently fundamentally carried out by them. The paper used qualitative research method in order to get at the central experience of informants and chronicle their actions in great detail, regarding their beliefs, history and context. Data was collected by means of participant observation and unstructured interviews. The results of the paper suggest that the fact that female peasants are underestimated, although they are key producers, can be attributed to the fact that they are overlooked in land distribution. Strangely, even though these rural women play an incredible and essential role in farming, they are traditionally undervalued and undercounted. The paper reveals that owing to gender imbalances, women have not been granted prospects to farm more intensively. This study concludes that rural women peasants warrant better glory and greater indebtedness of their palpable contributions towards agriculture, rural development and food security. The overall conclusion of this paper is that if we are to better recognizing women as integral in farming activities, it is critical to ensure gender balance. Once gender imbalances are addressed, a contribution of women in farming will be augmented. On the other hand, agricultural production will advance and the levels of poverty in rural areas will be alleviated.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p630