This issue is composed of five research articles and one discussion article, three book reviews and three tributes to the late Professor Edward “Eddie” Webster. The issue opens with an article which tackles a global problem of unreliable statistics of immigrants in the different parts of the world, with a specific focus on the South African context. This is an important piece of work as we are a few weeks away from the national elections, celebrating 30 years of democracy in South Africa. The issue of immigrants, documented and undocumented, is on the political manifestos of all key political parties, some arguing that they be embraced and others claiming that they are partly the cause of the vast socio-economic problems that South Africa is experiencing. Taking this article seriously challenges us to revisit the country’s stance on immigrants as this is mainly based on inaccurate statistics, which then influences the general population’s attitudes on immigrants.
Daniel Herda writes that miscounting of immigrants is not an unfamiliar phenomenon globally, but there are geographies in which the difference is vast from the actual numbers of immigrants—hence the title of the paper: “Miscounting Immigrants in South Africa: Understanding Misperceptions in the Immigrant Population Innumeracy Capital of the World.” The overestimation of immigrant numbers is coupled with negative sentiments against immigrants, which in South Africa are mostly experienced through xenophobic violence. This research asks why people even begin to overestimate, and this is answered through an analysis of the 2019 South African Social Attitudes Survey as well as other secondary literature. Class was identified as a factor, though the features within class categories are diverse. The lower the class, the higher the estimate of immigrant numbers, and this has to do with looking at immigrants as a competitive threat. The media too plays a huge role in influencing perceptions about immigrants. Social media and TV have more influence than newspapers because of the power of visual media. Political leaders are found to be playing a fundamental role as well, sometimes manipulating people’s perceptions in order to win votes.
Thirty years of freedom has not freed some women from the socio-cultural discrimination and stigmatisation based on gender and sexuality. Sinazo Nomsenge did “A Desktop Analysis of Menstruation and Society in South Africa.” The paper details that while menstruation is a biological process, the way it is experienced is based on socio-economic and cultural factors. This paper focuses on secondary data analysis for the period 2012–2022 and departs from the fact that global approaches to menstruation hygiene management fail to consider the varied experiences of people based on their different social, economic and cultural circumstances. Menstrual hygiene and stigma are still the most discussed issues in this research area, and most studies are done in basic and higher educational settings. The literature reviewed was only qualitative, with the exception of some studies which used mixed methods. A narrative analysis approached was used. The paper concludes that the socio-cultural beliefs held by the general population about menstruation continue to be important even if menstruation hygiene management is improved. Furthermore, the increased rollout of disposable and reusable menstrual products does not drastically improve the experiences of menstruation for women because of the socio-cultural context which includes secrecy and stigma.
Moving the focus from South Africa to southern Africa, James Maisiri, using the same gender lens and education setting as Nomsenge, through a discussion article, advocates for going beyond associating men with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and instead focusing on getting more women into this field of study. This case study is focused on “Preparing Zimbabwean Women for the Future of Work: The Role of STEM Education in the So-called Fourth Industrial Revolution.” A couple of factors have been highlighted as reasons why there are not enough young women taking STEM subjects. Young women do not see enough women teachers of STEM subjects because there are only a few of them, and the media also portrays men more in the STEM field. Girls also become preoccupied with household chores when they return from school. Girls’ menstrual cycle coupled with poor socioeconomic conditions disables them from attending school every day, thereby disadvantaging them in their school performance. Boys do not experience these negative circumstances in relation to their education, with no menstruation cycle to endure and no house chores to do on a daily basis. With Zimbabwe being largely a rural society, women are still being raised and prepared to become wives and homemakers, the author argues. Teachers encourage boys more and discourage girls from studying STEM subjects. The paper concludes that women’s lack of participation will limit economic growth. Zimbabwe should implement programmes that encourage girls to take STEM subjects. The study recommends that Zimbabwe’s media should play a more proactive role in showcasing successful women in fields like engineering and information communication technologies. More opportunities are needed for learners, and this will also contribute to overcoming the shortage of qualified STEM teachers.
Taking us to West Africa, Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey, through an article titled “Making Climate Smart Cocoa Inclusive: Towards a Framework for Gender Transformation,” recommends that gender equality be taken seriously in the context of climate variability and change. This paper focuses on cocoa production as one of the key sources of livelihood production and procurement in Ghana. They have established a climate-smart agricultural sector in which climate-smart cocoa is being produced. While this research appreciates the smart interventions to counter the challenges brought by climate change, it critiques these interventions as technicist as they take for granted the gendered roles into which the people have been socialised. It does this through looking closely at the differential access through a gender lens. The data collected for this research and its analysis allowed for the development of a comprehensive framework which takes critically the capacities of project implementers, beneficiaries and wider communities, centring issues of gender equality and changing social relations. This has meant that organisational structures and rules, and institutional cultures, have to be revisited and certain cultural norms have to be challenged if seen as perpetuating gender stereotypes, inequalities and discrimination. The integrated framework proposed by this paper exposes structural conditions embedded in climate-smart agricultural approaches.
High unemployment is one of the key challenges facing the African continent. Thabang Sefalafala, inspired by Durkheim and the concept of anomie, contributes an article titled “Beyond the Income: The Normative Effects of Unemployment in the Goldfields of Welkom, Free State, South Africa.” He raises an interesting sociological critique showing the intricate position in which black men who are ex-miners find themselves, after losing employment in the goldfields of Welkom. The paper aims to generate an understanding of black ex-miners who have experienced a lack of wage labour after spells of working in the mines. While Congress of South African Unions (COSATU) and many other organisations have argued for a basic income grant (BIG) to assist all those who are unemployed and/or in need, this paper shows that BIG is an inadequate measure for dealing with the different kinds of losses that people experience upon losing their mining jobs. Having employment gives one psychological and social dignity, in addition to the economic benefit, i.e. income. When employment is lost, the author argues, psychological and social dignity cannot be recovered through the attainment of a BIG. This is where the difference in the definition of employment and work becomes important, though this paper does not necessarily delve into this discussion. Instead, the paper highlights the role of precarity as influenced by the failures of wage labour. One example is “the nexus of work and social citizenship,” where “imagined connections between waged employment, emancipation, and social advancement [are] no longer obvious.” Second, “collective identities and solidarity and as an avenue for further advancement and development in life” are no longer there. Therefore, the paper recommends that we look beyond the income loss when we discuss and deliberate on issues of unemployment for men, which I believe is fully applicable to women in their various roles in society as well.
Asongu Acha-anyi and Sabihah Moola encourage us to go beyond western mental healthcare when in the African context and seek “A Decolonised Framework for a Medical Treatment Team Approach to Mental Healthcare in the South African Context.” This paper aims to address the gap identified by proposing a conceptual framework that provides for sociocultural context; a healthcare professional framework; a decolonial framework and mental health care policies in South Africa. It argues that western healthcare practices like the biomedical do not take into consideration important things like the sociocultural contexts for the mental healthcare of Africans and are thereby limiting. A decolonised framework also considers the contexts of the healthcare providers and not only the patients. The perspective that embraces apartheid and colonialism should be challenged, and an example here would be opening avenues for collaborative work between medical doctors and traditional healers in treating their patients. This paper relies on the cultural safety theory and the indigenous standpoint theory, and further acknowledges the limitation of the latter theory as only focusing on the indigenous systems of healing. This is as limited as the biomedical approach which this paper is focused on critiquing. The paper concludes that a decolonised healthcare framework will have great benefits for patient care, improved coordination and continuity of care for the patients.
Torvikey, Nomsenge and Maisiri argue that transforming norms that perpetuate unequal access to resources like land and education between men and women should be central to approaches that aim to promote gender equality. While this argument is relevant for Sefalafala, he does not directly engage with the issue of gender inequality in looking at Welkom ex-miners. On the other hand, common themes that cut across gender inequalities, socio economic and cultural factors play a role in biological processes such as menstruation in South Africa; education in Zimbabwe; and livelihood procurement through agriculture in Ghana.
Are democratic countries, particularly those of the Global South, still miscalculating important statistics like immigrant numbers? Are women in our societies still suffering socio-cultural discrimination and stigmatisation just because of a biological process like menstruation? Are government institutions, mainstream media and our social contexts still prioritising men over women for STEM subjects? Are the fourth-industrial revolution smart inventions technicist and do they take gender roles for granted? Do these continue to perpetuate gender stereotypes? What direction are we moving in if almost half of the economically active labour force is unemployed? What are the implications for the reliance on wage labour in the turbulent times of the global economy? When are we going to decolonise the healthcare system and take seriously African indigenous knowledge systems? The answers to the above questions might give us an indication of whether we are moving forward or are stagnant in our democracies.
As a closing note, the sociology community in southern Africa and beyond has lost one of the most influential and legendary sociologists: Professor Edward “Eddie” Webster. I would like to note that uwile umuthi omkhulu (the great tree has fallen) but we are encouraged that uyibekile induku ebandla (he has set a firm foundation from which we should continue). It is on that note that this issue contains tributes by three scholars among the many who worked with Eddie and greatly benefited from his work. Moreover, South African Review of Sociology (SARS) editorial collective, and Dr Mosa Phadi as the SARS co-ordinating editor, have a Special Issue call, guest edited by Emeritus Prof Ari Sitas, titled: “Remembering Edward ‘Eddie’ Webster and His Contribution to Sociology.”