Tài liệu Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa ppt

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Compiled by the Gender and Development Unit of the
Human Sciences Research Council
Published by HSRC Press
Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
www.hsrcpress.ac.za
First published 2006
ISBN 0-7969-2168-7
© 2006 Human Sciences Research Council
Copyedited by Amanda Matthee
Typeset by Laura Brecher
Cover design by Jenny Young
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CONTENTS
List of tables and figures v
Acknowledgements vi
Abbreviations and acronyms vii
1 Introduction 1
What do we know about gender and transport? 1
Gender differences in travel patterns 5
Time of travel 6
Gender and transport in rural areas 6
2 Methodology 7
Consultation phase 7
Site 7
Aims of the study 7
Data collection instruments 8
Questionnaires 8
Focus groups 8
Time-use diaries 8
Participants 10
Approach to recruitment of fieldworkers 11
Analysis 11
Questionnaires 11
Focus groups 11
Time-use diaries 12
3 Research findings 13
Findings from the questionnaire 13
Primary travel-related activities of women 13
Ownership and the gendered nature of access to means of transport 16
Public transport and women’s travel activities 18

Transport activities and girl children 20
Findings from the time-use diary 22
Context information 22
How women spent their time 23
Travel-related activities 27
Housework-related activities 28

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4 Interventions 31
Socio-political interventions 31
Public-private partnerships to address violence and create jobs 31
Gender sensitivity training and general life skills education 32
Transport, policy and infrastructure interventions 32
Non-motorised transport interventions 32
Upgrading of footpaths, construction of low-level footbridges 33
Times of operation: buses and taxis 33
Income-generating activities 33
Women’s health, maternal mortality and transport 33
Gender, education and mobility 34
Policy versus commitment: skills and resources 35
Mainstreaming gender into rural transport strategies: implementation questions 35
A future research agenda 35
Concluding comments 36
References 37

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Tables
Table 2.1 Mode of data collection in time-use surveys 9
Table 3.1 Activities engaged in for payment in cash or kind 23
Table 3.2 Total and mean time spent on travel (in hours and minutes) 24
Table 3.3 Total and mean time spent on household work and activities 24
Figures
Figure 2.1 Low income-generating activities of women for payment in cash
or kind 11
Figure 3.1 Amount of time women spent travelling to collect firewood/animal dung
and number of trips per day 14
Figure 3.2 Amount of time women spent travelling to collect water and number of
trips per day 15
Figure 3.3 Use of means of transport by gender (percentages) 17
Figure 3.4 Percentage of girls and boys who collect firewood/animal dung and
water, and work in the fields 20
Figure 3.5 Percentage of girls and boys aged 6–10 years and 11–17 years who would
be encouraged to use bicycles 21
Figure 3.6 Proportion of the total time per week women in Flagstaff spent on
activities (in hours and minutes) 25
Figure 3.7 Proportion of the total time per week women in Port St Johns spent on
activities (in hours and minutes) 25
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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

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The research team wishes to thank the following people and organisations for their
support:

• The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), in particular, the CEO,
Mr Nazir Alli, without whose support the study would not have been conducted,
and the Development Planner, Ms Elna Fourie, who went the extra mile for the
study.
• The Mayor, councillors and community members of the Qaukeni (Flagstaff) and Port
St Johns Local Municipalities.
• Nomthetho Zote, the Project Manager.
• Gavin Jood, the Fieldwork Coordinator.
• Professor Vasu Reddy, for editorial assistance.
• All the women who participated in the study.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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CEO Chief Executive Officer
DBSA Development Bank of South Africa
GTTG Gender and Transport Thematic Group
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
NDOT National Department of Transport
SANRAL South African National Roads Agency Limited
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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

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viii
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CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The study is a direct outcome of the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s
continued commitment and efforts ‘towards making a positive impact; not only on the
physical environment, but on the lives of the communities and individuals it touches in
its day-to-day activities’ (SANRAL 2005: 3). SANRAL recognises that transport issues affect
men and women differently and that women in rural areas carry (literally and figuratively)
a heavier transport burden. They recognise that the Eastern Cape is one of the poorest
provinces in the country, as well as one in which the least research has been done. A
report on mass poverty leading to child deaths in the Qaukeni Municipality where part
of the research was done states: ‘It is a forgotten part of South Africa […] Because of lack
of roads there are villages that cannot be reached by 4X4s or mobile welfare and Home
Affairs units, and it is these areas that starvation hits hardest’ (Sunday Times 22.09.2002).
The authors of this research could not access any study relating to women and travel/
transport which has been conducted in the Eastern Cape. Before embarking on the study
we had anecdotal evidence of the burden of transport on rural women in the Eastern
Cape but the consequences of this were not documented.
This publication is the result of a commissioned study conducted by The Gender and
Development Unit of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) for the South African
National Roads Agency Limited (hereafter SANRAL) to explore the gendered nature of
women’s travel in rural Eastern Cape.
The research was not viewed simply as an abstract process of knowledge-seeking but as

a means through which to acquire an understanding of women’s travel experiences and
needs in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The primary aims of the study were to:
• Explore the gender-based dimensions of rural women’s travel activities, experiences
and needs in order to provide policy and planning guidelines to government
departments and other stakeholders who are involved in community poverty
alleviation and development;
• Address the impact of the gendered nature of transport and travelling on the social,
economic and political roles of women in the area;
• Assess the impact of roads on gendered multiple roles in this rural area.
What do we know about gender and transport?
In the past decade and a half a range of decision-makers and academics in both the
developing and developed world have begun to recognise the differences in travel- and
transport-related activities of men and women. There is an emerging body of literature
which addresses the relationship between gender, development and transport (see e.g.
Turner, 1998; Mahapa, 2003; Fernando & Porter, 2002). The World Bank and other
developmental institutions are increasingly producing manuals and other material on
gender and transport (Peters, 2002). The World Bank has also set up a Gender and
Transport Thematic Group (GTTG). Yet, whilst more researchers and development
professionals today attempt to understand gender differences in access and mobility than
ever before, relatively few of the recent insights have found their way back into actual
transport planning policy and interventions. In South Africa, although there is an
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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
awareness and a commitment by government to gender equity, until very recently few

transport plans and projects have explicitly addressed the issue of gender. Bamberger
and Lebo (1998: 1) note that ‘in fiscal 1997 just 4% of the World Bank transport projects
included a gender component or gender actions – compared with 15% for water supply
projects, 35% for agriculture, 44% for education and 67% for population, health and
nutrition’. The Bank’s transport sector policy review (World Bank, 1996: 78) concluded
that ‘to date, transport policies have been geared primarily to the needs of men’.
Transport is a key factor for economic and social development in that the movement of
goods and people over any distance by any possible means facilitates the use of facilities
and services, thereby promoting trade and improving standards of living through access
to health, education, social services, markets, etc. (Rama, 1999). The availability of
transport and transport infrastructure has an impact on the wealth or poverty of a
community and its people. Establishing and understanding gender differences in transport
needs, access and planning is important, particularly in that men and women have
different economic and socio-cultural roles and responsibilities, and consequently have
different travel and transport needs (Bamberger, 2000).
Grieco, Pickup and Whipp (1989) in a volume examining gender, transport and
employment note that women’s employment, as opposed to men’s employment, is
undertaken in the context of and in combination with a complex set of domestic and
household responsibilities. Women are therefore more likely to make multipurpose
journeys in scattered locations (Turner, Apt, Grieco & Kwakye, 1998) and these trips
relate to employment, household/family and personal needs and demands. Women, in
comparison to men, are most likely to spend considerably more time on travel and task-
related activities and are likely to link (referred to as trip chaining) different tasks and
trips (Sarmiento, 1996).
Turner, Apt, Grieco and Kwakye (1998) suggest that transport planning focuses on the
single-purpose and predominantly male journey to work, thereby not adequately
capturing the travel needs and patterns of women in both urban and rural contexts.
For example, women in comparison to men are more likely to utilise public transport
systems (Grieco, Pickup & Whipp, 1989; Turner, Apt, Grieco & Kwakye, 1998), yet public
transport systems or urban transport policies seldom cater to women with dependent

children. Transport problems and how these are addressed can therefore place additional
burdens on women and children. This absence of or lack of awareness of the gendered
patterns of travel and of time and task use in planning and policy development can
contribute towards reducing women’s economic and social productivity, their access to
public services, and their political and community participation.
Grieco, Pickup and Whipp (1989: 2–3) note the influences on women’s travel patterns,
travel time and tasks undertaken, and summarise the key arguments:
• Women’s role in travel is a cultural phenomenon, that is, women’s travel patterns
and levels of mobility are rooted in the values and assumptions of ‘family’ and
‘community’.
• Travel is a gendered activity, with men and women having different travel needs,
demands and patterns.
• Women have specific needs based on their own travel activities.
• Owing to the strength of the prevailing stereotypes, which construct women’s
coordinating behaviour as instinctual nurturing, positive creative management of
tasks, travel and time by women can go unrecognised.
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Introduction
While the above discussion lends itself to women within the urban context, similar
patterns and arguments emerge for rural women’s travel and transport needs. Our
interpretation of the literature endorses the views of a range of writers in Sub-Saharan
Africa who point out that, while both men and women in rural areas are victims of
extreme poverty, the poverty is feminised and is clearly highlighted in respect of access
to appropriate modes of transport, time spent on transport activities and overall access
to development opportunities.

Rural women and girls spend all if not most of their time and energy on routine domestic
tasks, which involve head loading and carrying children often in unsafe environments.
Mehretu and Mutambira’s (1992: 1680–1681) case study of the Chiduku district in
Zimbabwe, for example, shows that women (and girls) had much higher participation
rates for the trip-generating household chores/work. Women were responsible for 62%
of the water collection, 57% of the laundry activities, 63% of the fuel wood collection
and 48% of trips to the market. Obviously, as many studies point out, the quality of the
footpaths, their destination and the weather patterns have an impact on all activities.
Given that transport-related responsibilities are largely borne by women, rural men
consider these transport problems to be of very little significance (Rama, 1999).
The unacceptably higher levels of household tasks undertaken by women, as opposed
to men, contribute to what has been termed ‘time poverty’, i.e. time spent walking long
distances to collect water and wood instead of time spent on community participation,
accessing healthcare, etc. This is a major contributing variable to the feminisation of
poverty. Grieco (undated: 2) explains this notion that women’s multiple social roles (as
worker, as domestic provider, as child carer and carer of dependants, as food producer)
intensify the time demands on women to the extent that women can often be deemed
‘time poor’. Women are therefore not able to find time to attend to their health or
personal problems, to participate in economic (labour or market) activities or to enrol in
education institutions (Grieco, undated, and Fernando and Porter, 2002). The difficult
situations of women and girls in female-headed households are more likely to be
compounded by problems of time poverty.
Another aspect contributing to women’s time poverty is the mode of travel utilised. In
many developing countries, rural people depend largely on non-motorised transport and
the ownership of motorised private or public modes of travel are limited in rural areas
(Maganya, 1997). The main mode of travel in rural areas is walking, with only a few
households owning bicycles and animals, as these modes are more affordable and
cheaper for the household (Mashiri, 1997). Fernando and Porter (2002) note that culture
is a strong determinant of women’s ability to use transport technologies, and this may
vary by location. The authors explain this using Uganda as an example. In eastern and

northern Uganda, women ride bicycles while in the central region bicycles are the
property and domain of men and boys. In Burkina Faso, the authors note, among certain
ethnic groups, women are forbidden to ride bicycles, and in some regions this extends to
the riding of donkeys and horses, because riding horses, donkeys and bicycles will ‘incur
the risk of young girls losing their virginity’ (Ouedraogo, cited in Fernando and Porter,
2002). Cultural and religious practices, including issues of caste, constrain women’s
mobility and accessibility within and outside the household, thereby contributing to them
being time poor, and isolated.
In South Africa, there are very few studies that have identified the specific transport needs
of both rural and urban women. Another point worth noting is that the publications which
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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
have emerged have not been authored by academics who have an academic history
within gender studies. Although gender studies has grown in recent years as an academic
discipline in South Africa and although areas of interest include gender and health,
gender and education, gender and public policy, gender and masculinity, and gender and
leadership, the issues of gender, development and transport have not been part of a
gender studies curriculum.
Government has also focused on areas such as gender and health often within the
context of the HIV pandemic and issues relating to gender and education. Many authors
have pointed out that the issue has not influenced transport policy and planning
(Mahapa, 2003, Bamberger & Lebo, 1998). However, it is very encouraging that the
National Department of Transport (NDOT) draft document on Rural Transport Strategy
for South Africa states the following with regard to women and transport in rural areas:
'There also needs to be greater awareness of neglected rural access needs – especially

those of women, the poor and the disadvantaged’ (2005a: 12). It also recognises that the
needs of rural women have in the past not been taken into account when it succinctly
states that: ‘The delivery of rural transport infrastructure and services in South Africa has
been characterised by a bias towards roads, motorised transport and male-defined travel
needs and the corresponding relative neglect of “off-road infrastructure” such as paths
and tracks and non-motorised transport modes (bicycles, donkeys, etc.) and the access
needs of women and people with disabilities’ (2005a: 12). The document has a clear
commitment to the development of infrastructure for non-motorised transport and a
section on capacity building that commits to ‘community participation and mainstreaming
of women and youth in all aspects of rural transport provision’ (2005a: 19).
As indicated later in this document it would be important for all stakeholders to work
closely together to implement the draft document’s commitment to gender mainstreaming
in rural areas.
Mashiri and Mahapa may quite comfortably be credited with groundbreaking research in
the area of gender and rural transport issues in South Africa (Mahapa, 2000; Mahapa &
Mashiri, 2001), as well as contributing to new research (Pillay, 2003) and furthering
theoretical and policy debates. Mashiri and Mahapa note that in the analysis of transport
systems studies of rural households, transport characteristics have been excluded, even
though the household is the locus of transport demands (Mahapa & Mashiri, 2001).
Mahapa (2003) states that ‘the question of gender in the objectives of the NDOT seems
to be far removed’ (2003: 45).
In evaluating the impact of the Tshitwe Road Upgrading Project on the lives of the men
and women of Tshitwe, Mahapa and Mashiri (2001) used an activity-based approach.
The authors noted that while the project provided financial relief, albeit temporary, for
the men and women of Tshitwe who were employed on the project, disparities existed
in terms of wages paid to men and women, as well as the tasks allocated to men and
women. Men received higher wages, and were employed in more technical- and
technology-related tasks, whereas women were employed in menial, non-technical
activities such as carrying stones. In terms of the impact on the households and
community, men and women employed on this project spent their earnings in different

ways. In most cases the men spent ‘much’ money on consumer goods from the urban
areas with no redistribution of these resources back to the rural sector, compared to
women who used their money to purchase local goods and services. With regard to the
impact of the road upgrade on the travel demands of the women and children, the
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Introduction
authors explain that walking still remains the main mode of travel for women and
children, especially for internal or local task-related and trip-related activities. While the
road upgrade may have had impacts on the household access to agricultural services and
inputs (fertilisers), women and children still undertake the harvesting of the crops on foot
and this involves head loading.
Mahapa and Mashiri (2001: 24) confirm the above issues in the following points: ‘The
Tshitwe road-upgrading project reflects a preoccupation of policy makers with higher-
technology fixes and efficiency rather than the thorough examination of the needs of the
beneficiary communities, which could have resulted in a different, less expensive, but
more sustainable gender-sensitive solution to the problem. It is thus critically important
to realise that ignoring, underplaying or misunderstanding gender differences in the
economy of the household, and by extension, of the village, could lead to expensive
and irrelevant development projects.’
An approach to suggested interventions being adopted in current studies and research
into rural transport needs is the focus on non-motorised modes of travel undertaken by
its members in the carrying out of various household and personal tasks and activities.
Within this approach focus is shifted to improving the safety and quality of infrastructure
such as footpaths, tracks, river crossings and footbridges. In a case study of rural travel
and transport planning in Malawi, for example, the rural household was the unit of

analysis of trip generations in the rural village (Ali-Nejadfard, 1997). Footpaths and
footbridges were the predominant transport infrastructure used by the rural household.
In meeting the actual travel needs and access demands of the rural village the most cost-
effective travel interventions implemented were the use of intermediate modes of travel.
These included wheelbarrows, bicycles and animal-drawn or bicycle-drawn carts, and
in terms of infrastructure appropriate timber bridges were constructed and footpaths
improved. Within this approach the mainstreaming of gender issues in the transport
needs and interventions of the rural community can be realised.
The following three sections focus on issues which are crucial to gender and travel in
rural areas. (Some points have been referred to in the first few pages.)
Gender differences in travel patterns
In recent years internationally, but not in South Africa, there has been an increasing trend
towards gender disaggregation of travel statistics, but knowledge of gendered travel
behaviour remains minimal. In international research there are also some problems in
tracing certain gendered trends. For example, it is only recently that shopping trips have
been disaggregated from personal trips and ‘other trips’ (Hamilton & Jenkins, 2000).
Researchers point out that the conflation of these categories is just one example of how
gender-neutral assumptions or research and interventions not using a gender lens can
distort perceptions of women’s travel. Hamilton, Jenkins and Gregory (1991) also maintain
that many research studies/tabulations excluded journeys under one mile – most of which
are made by women and children. Statistics indicate that men travel more miles than
women (Hamilton, Jenkins & Gregory, 1991) but what is not recorded is the number of
journeys which many women make on foot. Travel lengths vary markedly by journey
purposes and here gender is the crucial variable. For example, trips to collect firewood in
rural areas and trips to take care of older relatives tend to be more frequent than journeys
to the place of paid employment.
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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
Time of travel
Another important area of gender difference is the times when men and women travel –
peak and off-peak travel, and day and night time travel (Reid-Howie Associates, 2000).
Because women are far more likely to be in part-time employment or unemployed and
because they make what we call ‘family responsibility trips’ such as visiting sick relatives,
they travel during off-peak times. Because of women’s fear of violence and aggression,
they are far less willing than men to travel after dark.
Gender and transport in rural areas
One of the reasons for transport being important for the development of women in rural
areas is that it has an impact on women accessing health services, educational facilities
and employment, and participating in key decision-making forums. Transport can
improve the lives of women by reducing the amount of time they spend on household
activities. In rural areas, women are largely responsible for domestic activities. Research
findings in Africa (mainly from Sub-Saharan Africa), clearly indicate that men and
women’s transport-related tasks in rural areas are gendered. Females spend more time
and energy on transport, have less access to and power over resources, and also have
fewer opportunities than males to make use of transport technologies which would ease
the transport burden (Fernando & Porter, 2002; Mahapa, 2003). Gender issues have
unfortunately also not been considered in policy and practice in rural transport systems
in the majority of developing countries – the latter situation entrenches social and spatial
exclusion in rural transport (Mahapa, 2003). Our reading of the literature clearly indicates
that gender has been more of an add-on factor and has not been mainstreamed in
transport policy and planning in relation to rural South Africa. Mahapa (2003: 33)
comments: ‘The main theme emerging from the literature review is that gender issues
are still peripheral in much of rural transport and planning’. Research within the growing
body of ‘gender and transport’ literature indicates that roads and motorised transport very
often only have a limited impact on the lives of the rural poor. However, ‘both institutions

and research in the transport and rural development courses of universities remain
strongly biased towards the provision of motorised road transport as the means of
meeting most movements and needs. The implication is that the transport needs of rural
communities are still obscured’ (Mahapa, 2003: 34).
Women’s transport needs are crucial to transport planning, but this can only be done if
planners are aware of the difference in transport needs of men and women (Bamberger &
Davis, 2001). Rural household travel and transport mostly entail the transportation of
small goods over short distances and travel within and between villages, local markets
and surrounding areas, mostly on foot (Mashiri, 1996). As Mahapa (2003) states, until
very recently government has placed an emphasis on the provision of roads and not on
service provision. Service provision obviously has a major influence on women’s access
to services and other opportunities. It is well documented that in the developing world,
Africa in particular, women bear the responsibility for head loading goods, crops, water
and fuel whilst simultaneously carrying children on their backs (Fernando & Porter, 2002).
If planners and governments are serious about alleviating poverty it is important to talk to
the women themselves about what their needs are and how they could be met. The latter
was one of the aims which the current research pursued.
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CHAPTER 2
Methodology
The following section provides a brief description of the methodology employed in the
study.
Consultation phase
Prior to the pilot study, meetings were arranged between the project team and key role-
players (gatekeepers) of the OR Tambo Municipality districts with the assistance of

SANRAL. The meetings were attended by women from the three rural communities, the
mayors of Qaukeni, Port St Johns and Bizana, councillors from the districts, as well as
traditional leaders. The meetings provided a valuable overview of the situation of men,
women and children in these communities, as well as some beginning insights into their
transport and travel experiences, needs and constraints.
Site
The study was conducted in the village of Nkozo, in the Qaukeni (Flagstaff) Local
Municipality, as well as in Gqubeni, Port St Johns. Qaukeni and Port St Johns districts
fall under the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. According to figures
from the 2001 Census, the total population of the OR Tambo District Municipality was
estimated to be just over 1.6 million. The population of Qaukeni was just over 250 000
with 51 000 households; Port St Johns was just over 146 000 with an estimated 29 000
households. Qaukeni and Port St Johns had a population growth of 0.8% and 0.1%
respectively between 1996 and 2001 (DBSA, 2005: 158). About 93.3% of the total
population of the OR Tambo District Municipality live in areas categorised as rural. The
Eastern Cape was specifically chosen for this study as it has been identified as one of
the poorest provinces in the country, with the least research undertaken with regard to
issues of transport, mobility and accessibility. According to the National Household Travel
Survey (NDOT, 2005b), more than 60% of households in the Eastern Cape have a
monthly income of less than R500. It was also reported that medical, welfare and police
services are less accessible in the Eastern Cape than in any other province.
According to the Development Bank of South Africa’s 2005 Development Report (DBSA,
2005), the 2001 statistics showed that 86% of households in Qaukeni had no access to
electricity, 78% had no access to water, 97% had no access to refuse removal and 67%
had no access to housing. The situation was equally grim in Port St Johns where 82% of
households had no access to electricity, 81% had no access to water, 75% had no access
to sanitation, 96% had no access to refuse removal and 82% had no access to housing.
The Development Report also indicated that the unemployment rate in 2001 for Qaukeni
was 66% and Port St Johns was 70%.
Aims of the study

• To explore the gender-based dimensions of rural women’s travel activities,
experiences and needs in order to provide gendered, informed interventions relating
to policy and planning which could assist the client (SANRAL) in its community
development and poverty alleviation programmes.
• To explore the impact of the gendered nature of transport and travel on the social,
health, economic and political status of women and girls in the area.
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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
Data collection instruments
Data was collected by means of 237 questionnaires, three focus groups and 17 time-use
diaries (eight in Flagstaff and nine in Port St Johns). Additional information on participants
and data collected for the time-use diaries are presented in the section on findings from
the time-use diaries.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires are a popular means of obtaining data from a large number of
respondents (as in this study). Structured questionnaires were used in order to ensure
that a wide number of areas were covered for each respondent. This method ensures
consistency when applying the same analysis across the data. Great care was taken in the
development of the instrument to ensure that interviewer bias was minimised and that
questions were clear and easy to answer in order to provide consistent and reliable data.
The questionnaire comprised a total of 147 questions. Pre-coded categories were created
for most of the questions. Data was collected in isiXhosa by first-language Xhosa speakers
to ensure that there were no language barriers and that the interviewer and respondent
could communicate freely. The structured questionnaire consisted of five sections:
• Household information;

• Household member grid;
• Participant details;
• Household activities involving travelling that the participant engaged in; and
• Travel activities of children in the household.
The questionnaires were administered to women aged 18 years and older who were
residents of the Nkozo and Gqubeni villages. Respondents to the questionnaires were
selected randomly from the villages. Visits to the villages were undertaken prior to the
commencement of fieldwork and administration of the time-use diary. In this preparatory
phase, women were asked to volunteer to participate in the study.
Focus groups
Focus group discussions are in-depth, qualitative interviews with a small number of
carefully selected people. Qualitative data derived from focus groups is extremely
valuable when vivid and rich descriptions are needed. The discussions provided a wealth
of information on women’s travel behaviour, and their thoughts and feelings about travel-
related aspects of their lives. Three focus groups were conducted in isiXhosa and were
tape-recorded and transcribed.
Time-use diaries
The primary aim of a time-use diary is to enable respondents to report all activities
undertaken over a prescribed period of time including the beginning and ending time
for each activity, a description of the activity and the contextual information required
for analysis. The time-use diary was adapted from the instrument used by Statistics
South Africa for the Time Use Survey 2000 (Statistics South Africa, 2001). It comprised
seven sections:
• Section one: participant details;
• Section two to six: 24-hour diaries (divided into half-hour slots);
• Section seven: quality and availability of transport infrastructure in the rural village.
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Methodology
The time-use diary is a challenging data collection instrument and many time-use studies
utilise one or two diary days (see Table 2.1).
Table 2.1: Mode of data collection in time-use surveys
Source: UNESCAP (2003)
However, the time-use diary designed for this project recorded the activities of women
over four to five consecutive weekdays including information on the distance travelled
between places or activities (measured in metres using a measuring wheel), whether the
women carried items, and who accompanied them. The adapted manner in which the
time-use diary was utilised was innovative and challenging both to the researchers and
the participants. The researchers observed in the focus groups that the women were very
unsure of how much time they spent on collecting wood or water. They had a ‘hunch’ or
hypothesis that the women hugely underestimated the time and the distance they spent
on these daily activities. There is a range of reasons as to the usefulness of time-use
diaries. Tu (2001), for example, suggests that a time-use diary is more accurate than
stylised measures in estimating time use for the following reasons: Firstly, it provides a
means for clear documentation of activities within a day. Secondly, the short reference
period in a time-use diary provides cues for respondents to recall daily activities. Thirdly,
it is possible to record time spent on different activities simultaneously. Bonke (2005)
further adds to the advantages by pointing out that they provide information on how
people structure their everyday life, the amount of time people spend on activities, and
the type of activities they engage in (paid and unpaid), including leisure, educational and
recreational activities.
In our reading of the literature we observed that time-use diaries are not a popular data
gathering tool in research related to mobility in rural areas of developing nations.
Although the research team had decided on this method we have to report that the
challenges it posed almost led us to abandoning it as a method. First of all most of the
women were not very literate and they were overwhelmed and burdened by the idea

of having to fill out a ‘form’ which captured what they had done for the day. The
researchers thus chose to accompany the women for one of the diary days on their daily
walk. This entailed spending one full day (from 04:00 in the morning to 15:00 in the
afternoon) observing and recording the activities undertaken by each woman on a
continuous basis. The distance walked also had to be measured. A measuring wheel,
used by road construction workers, was used in the calculation.
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Country Survey Mode of data collection
Australia Time-use survey, 1997 Self-reporting: two diary days
Benin Time-use survey, 1998 Face-to-face recall interview: one diary day
India Time-use survey, 1998 Face-to-face recall interview: three diary days
Mongolia Time-use survey, 2000
Self-reporting and face-to-face recall:
two to three diary days
Morocco
National survey on
women’s time, 1997/1998
Face-to-face recall interview: one diary day
South Africa Time-use survey, 2000 Face-to-face recall interview: one diary day

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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
Interviewers also spent many hours with each respondent on the subsequent diary days.
This ensured that interviewers could ask about specific activities if these were not
spontaneously reported on during face-to-face-recall at the end of a day. The reason for
the face-to-face report back was twofold: Firstly, because of the high illiteracy rate the
women could not complete the time-use diaries themselves, so the interviewers were

responsible for recording the information. Secondly, recording of the previous day’s
activities was assisted by the interviewers as they could ask for additional information
about certain activities if not presented. All the interviewers were first-language isiXhosa
speakers and this contributed to a positive rapport between them and the participants.
The latter was in fact commented on by a number of the women.
The diary data for the remaining days was recorded using the activity recall method –
each respondent was visited at home and asked to recall her activities in the preceding
24 hours. Respondents were asked to report on each activity undertaken successively
from waking – including the time that each activity began and ended throughout the
24 hours. The interval time in which the activities were reported was fixed. The 24 hours
in a day were subdivided into intervals of 30 minutes. The main or primary activity was
reported for each time of the day. Time was recorded in minutes.
The comprehensive data obtained provided the research team with a clear picture of the
activities that the women engage in daily.
Participants
Interviews based on the questionnaire were conducted with a total of 231 women and
six men. Although the sample targeted women, it was decided to interview men if the
fieldworkers came across a household consisting of only male members. Given that the
focus of the study was on women and that the questionnaires completed by men had a
significant amount of missing data (men did not do any of the activities), the data was
not analysed for men.
The demographic profile illustrates respondents were likely to be isiXhosa-speaking. A
total of 97% of the respondents were African females. A total of 78% of the respondents
were born between 1931 and 1970. These respondents were living in either the Redhill
(28%) or Mpumaze (20%) village. Most respondents (97%) had always stayed in the
villages surveyed. With regard to marital status, 51% of women were married according
to tradition and custom, and 30% were widowed. A total of 42% of women reported
having no schooling and 43% had attended primary school (up to Grade 7/Standard 5).
Only 1% (n=2) were high school graduates and 1% (n=2) had post-school qualifications.
A total of 84% of respondents indicated that they were housewives or homemakers as

they had given up looking for paid employment. However, per definition a housewife
or homemaker is a person who stays at home of their own free will and not because of
unemployment or any other circumstantial reason.
Most of these women are in fact unemployed and do not fall in the ‘housewife’ category.
It can be argued that this category be redefined as ‘unemployed persons who are looking
after the household’. Although most of the women (84%, n=185) were unemployed, in
the sense that they were homemakers/housewives, 70 women were involved in income-
generating activities for payment in cash or kind (see Figure 2.1).
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Methodology
Figure 2.1: Low income-generating activities of women for payment in cash or kind
Figure 2.1 shows that most women involved in income-generating activities looked after
children (n=27), while a few women did thatching (n=9) and domestic work (n=9).
Household income was mostly derived from state grants (55%), and to a lesser degree
from wages (16%) and private pension funds (9%). State grants were reported to be any
amount up to R750.00. The total monthly income in the household is less than R750.00
(86%), which is consistent with the amount from state grants. This implies that most
households are solely dependent on these grants and obtain little or no additional income
which was also apparent from Figure 2.1. While the average income per household was
R618.76, 22% of households had a monthly income of less than R250.00. This is
particularly significant when looking at transport costs and the cost of accessing
healthcare facilities and clinics. (See section on accessing health facilities.)
Approach to recruitment of fieldworkers
A participatory empowerment approach was adopted for the data collection and data-
capturing processes of the study. Owing to the high unemployment rate it was decided

that people living in the area would be recruited to assist with the project. This entailed
consultation with communities. The fieldwork manager and fieldworkers were recruited
from the Qaukeni/Bizana/Port St Johns/Umtata areas. Interestingly, most of the
fieldworkers were unemployed but were university graduates who could not find
permanent work. The fieldwork manager also assisted with the cleaning and capturing
of data. The fieldworkers were provided with an intensive one-day training session.
Given the fact that many of them were familiar with the basics of research the training
was very successful. Regular meetings and feedback sessions were held with fieldworkers
throughout the fieldwork period to ensure that everybody was on track and to discuss
any difficulties or obstacles that emerged.
Analysis
Questionnaires
The data from the questionnaire was captured in MS Excel and analysed using SPSS
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Frequencies were run on all 147 questions
from the questionnaire and were used to generate graphs, tables and cross-tabulations.
Focus groups
A thematic content analysis was used to analyse the focus group data.
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30
25
20
15
10
5
0
27
99
8
4 44

22
1
Looking after children Domestic work
Thatching Sell fruit and vegetables
Make crafts Sell crafts
Sell clothes or shoes Hairdressing
Other work Projects such as baking

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Time-use diaries
The data obtained from the time-use diaries was interpreted using conceptual and
analytical frameworks discerned from international and national literature on time-use
patterns and mobility. The analysis of the time-use diary begins with a vignette, followed
by a descriptive overview of the activities in which women engage. We also analysed,
where applicable and relevant, both total time and mean time spent on a particular
activity. The mean time is calculated by dividing the total time spent on an activity by
the number of people who reported participating in the same activity. Analysis was done
using MS Excel.
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CHAPTER 3
Research findings
Findings from the questionnaire

Findings from the study are divided into four broad themes: primary travel-related
activities of women; ownership and the gendered nature of access to means of transport;
public transport and women’s travel activities; transport activities and girl children. The
first section reports results on women’s travel behaviour and their primary travel-related
activities. The next section discusses patriarchy and how gender relates to access to
alternative transport means.
Taking women’s primary travel-related activities into account, the next section looks at
women’s mobility and the way in which their travel resources affect their everyday lives.
The final section briefly discusses children’s work and travel-related activities.
Primary travel-related activities of women
This section discusses the primary travel-related activities that women engage in on a
daily basis – the collection of firewood and water, and work in the fields. In this section
it is argued that the time-consuming travel related to these primary activities offers an
important opportunity for intervention.
An overwhelming majority of women (99%) walked and carried firewood on their heads.
Apart from the time involved in providing sufficient firewood for the household, the
health implications associated with head loading are a serious cause for concern. Women
were also the primary suppliers of water for households (55%). In some cases women
were assisted by girl children and, occasionally, by boy children. However, women are
responsible for the provision of water with or without help from other household
members. Again, the primary mode of transport is head loading with women carrying an
average of 66 litres of water per trip. An average of three trips per day was made to
collect water, robbing women of one and a half to more than three hours of their time
per day.
Women spend between three and a half hours and nine and a half hours travelling to
collect firewood/animal dung and water, and on trips to the fields. This does not take into
account the actual time that women spend collecting firewood/animal dung and water,
and working in the fields. In addition to these activities, women are responsible for other
domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping and so on. Based on our
findings, it is apparent that these women are ‘time poor’; they do not have any time to

improve their own physical and emotional wellbeing, develop their own interests, access
education (42% of women respondents had not attended school at all and 43% had only
completed Grade 7/Standard 5), or participate in community and political activities.
As women are responsible for many time-consuming domestic activities, they are
excluded from social and political activities. An intervention is required to assist women
to perform their tasks more easily and swiftly in order to alleviate the burden they carry.
Women are primarily responsible for three main travel-related tasks: the collection of
firewood, the collection of water, and travelling to the field to harvest crops. The
following sections provide a more detailed picture of women’s responsibilities and the
amount of time required to fulfil these tasks.
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Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
Collection of firewood
Firewood is used as a source of energy for cooking and heating. Women are dependent
on firewood and paraffin as the major source of energy/fuel for cooking (72%) and
heating (71%). The task of collecting firewood is not limited to women but includes girl
children as well. The bulk of the responsibility fell on women (60%) to collect firewood/
animal dung for the household. When they were sick, 61% of girls collected the
firewood/animal dung. In other instances the women were assisted by girl children and
in exceptional instances by boy children. The collection of firewood (amongst other
activities) means that girls spend a lot of time on household chores which often denies
them the opportunity to attend school regularly. An overwhelming majority of women
(99%) walked and carried firewood on their heads.
Even in households which owned animals (54%), women did not have any access to
animals. This could be due to cultural and social restrictions (IFAD, 2001; Starkey et al.,

2002). Mahapa (2003) reports there are restrictions on women’s access to animal-drawn
transport due to patriarchy and the entrenched unequal power relations in society.
Women had to walk and carry the firewood/animal dung on their heads as it was
expected of them. In addition to the time-consuming nature of travelling (walking) to
the source of firewood, the data indicates that women spend one to three hours per day
collecting the firewood. This entails, in some cases, a number of walking trips which
could be as long as three hours per trip – totalling up to four to six hours to travel and
collect firewood (see Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1: Amount of time women spent travelling to collect firewood/animal dung and number
of trips per day
Figure 3.1 shows that the majority of women made one trip per day to collect firewood/
animal dung and spent 90 to 180 minutes (one and a half to three hours) per day
travelling to do so. This excludes the time spent collecting the fuel. Data from the time-
use diaries indicates that for four days the women in Flagstaff spent 705 minutes (11 hours
45 minutes) and women in Port St Johns spent 330 minutes (5 hours 30 minutes)
collecting firewood.
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Four trips
Three trips
Two trips
One trip
0 50 100 150
Less than 30 minutes 30 –60 minutes
60–90 minutes 90–120 minutes
120–150 minutes 150–180 minutes
1
2 3 18 34 43
2
1

123 5 9
7
40

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Research findings
Collection of water
Women also collect water for the household. Our findings show that most women use
water from the same source for drinking, cooking, washing and bathing. The data shows
that women were very likely to use a well/spring and flowing water/stream/river for
drinking (84%), cooking (85%), washing (81%) and bathing (86%). Focus groups also
indicated that women often washed and bathed at the water source in order to reduce
the amount of water needed at home and thus lessen the number of trips needed to
collect water.
This, however, presents a new set of problems as women’s safety is often jeopardised
when using these water sources for bathing (see section on violence against women).
As with collecting firewood, 55% of women indicated that it was primarily their duty to
collect water. In other cases they were assisted by girl children and in exceptional cases
by boy children. When women are sick, pregnant or unable to collect water, 60% of girls
did this task. Seven of the women said that if they did not collect water, no one else in
the family went; in other words the household had no water. This indicates that these
women have no assistance whatsoever from other family members in collecting water for
the household as collecting water is regarded as women’s work only. As one of the
women in the focus group commented:
Boys will collect wood and water in an emergency. If there are no girls or the
mother and the grandmother are dead or sick, he will find a girl that will collect
for him . . . maybe a friend.
It is again evident that women walk and head load – 85% of women walked and carried

water on their heads. This is consistent with findings in the literature regarding rural
women’s transport (IFAD, 2001; Starkey et al., 2002; Mahapa, 2003).
Figure 3.2 demonstrates how much time women spent travelling to collect water and the
number of trips made per day.
Figure 3.2: Amount of time women spent travelling to collect water and number of trips per day
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Eight trips
Six trips
Five trips
Four trips
Three trips
Two trips
One trip
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage
Less than 30 minutes 30 –60 minutes
60–90 minutes 90–120 minutes
120–150 minutes 150–180 minutes
875
1
1
111
221
13
6 14
13 2
11 11
26 28 94
10 74

2
2
2
10
5
4
4
7
7

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It was calculated that the average amount of water women carried per trip was 66 litres.
It is apparent from Figure 3.2 that most women made three trips per day and spent 30 to
90 minutes (half an hour to one and a half hours) travelling to and from the well/spring
and flowing water/stream/river (excluding the actual time spent collecting water). Data
from the time-use diaries showed that for the four diary days, the women in Flagstaff
spent 435 minutes (7 hours 15 minutes) and the women in Port St Johns spent 840 minutes
(14 hours) collecting water.
Travelling to fields
In addition to household and family-related tasks, women also worked in the fields.
This has an additional impact on their time and the distances they travel exacerbate
their transport and household burdens. A total of 83% of the women owned a field and
84% were unemployed/housewives (these women have either stopped looking for
employment or have never been employed before) and practised subsistence farming.
An overwhelming majority of women (93%) indicated that crops from the field were
consumed by their household, showing that women are working on the field in order to
provide food for the household. The women spend up to two hours travelling to and

from the field. This figure is supported by evidence from the time-use diaries which
indicated an average of one hour travelling time to and from the field and up to two
hours for some women.
Women have to collect firewood/animal dung and work in the fields. It was calculated
that 64% of women spent between 30 and 120 minutes (30 minutes to two hours)
travelling to the fields and this excludes actual time spent working in the fields. In
addition to this, they travel to the fields to cultivate crops to provide food for the
household, placing an additional burden on already time-poor women.
Although women are responsible for all these activities they do not have access to the
household’s transportation means. The following section paints a grim picture of the
effects of patriarchy when evaluating women’s access to transport modes.
Ownership and the gendered nature of access to means of transport
Although a large number of households own animals, males predominantly use all means
of transport with a very small number of women having access to the household’s
transport means. It was reported that animals were used mainly by males for ploughing
(65%), while women have to walk and head load. Of the 99% (n=198) of women who
walked and head-loaded firewood, 95 (53%) households owned a donkey/animal/cart,
50 (29%) households owned a wheelbarrow and 19 (11%) owned animal-driven carts.
Ninety-five (95) women said that their households owned a donkey/cattle/horse, yet they
still walked and carried water on their heads as wheelbarrows and animal-driven carts
were only used by men. Head loading is strenuous and time-consuming, and has negative
implications for women’s health.
Given women’s transport burden and household responsibilities, they should have access
to all means of transport in order to free up some of their time. More than half of the
respondents (or their household) own a donkey, cattle or horse that could be utilised to
transport essential household items such as water and wood. Not surprisingly only 1%
of respondents’ households own a car. This is consistent with findings from the National
Household Travel Survey (NDOT, 2005b) which showed that income is an important
factor in car ownership. The National Household Travel Survey also found that there are
16

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Research findings
only 43 cars per 1 000 population in rural areas. We add social roles assigned to being
female as another factor in the ownership or rather non-ownership of any mode of
transport (motorised as well as non-motorised).
Current research also calculated that only 17% of those who own an animal also own an
animal-driven cart. The focus of this study is the alleviation of women’s transport burden
and it is thus essential to explore the usage of these means of transport for women.
Although ownership of animals is relatively high, animals are used mainly for ploughing
(65%), and to a much lesser degree for transporting water, wood and soil (12%); in only
20% of cases are animals used for ploughing as well as transport. It is thus apparent that
the provision of animals would not necessarily alleviate the transport burden of women.
A total of 28% of respondents reported ownership of wheelbarrows – used mainly to cart
water, soil, fertiliser and wood (as reported by 75% of owners).
Given that a large number of households own animals, a possible intervention could be
made by providing animal-driven carts to households that own animals, and both carts
and animals to those households without animals. Figure 3.3 indicates that men had
access to both motorised and non-motorised transport. Women’s major exclusion from
both modes meant that their mode of transport is walking and head-loading. Women
were willing to use animals and carts but as the following excerpts indicate councillors
and other decision-makers in the community need to be champions for the initiative. It
goes without saying that many of the decision-makers would also need to be sensitised
to women’s needs.
Many things are changing, we [women] are the people here, men are gone or died
so we must talk to the councillors and see if we can be drivers of carts . . . [laughter]
Figure 3.3: Use of means of transport by gender (percentages)

The results reflect and express traditions of patriarchy and determine the parameters
within which women are expected to operate. Figure 3.3 confirms that more men than
women use different means of transport. Although there is a range of transport (cars,
vans, trucks, donkeys, cattle, carts, bicycles, wheelbarrows), it is mostly men who have
access to such modes of transport.
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100
80
60
40
20
0
Percentage
96
4
85
6
9
Mostly male
Mostly female
Equally females and males
Cars, vans, trucks, tractors
(n=28)
Donkeys, cattle, carts, bicycles,
wheelbarrows (n=137)