Struggles of Human Settlements for Women in Umlalazi in Kwazulu Natal

Women in Umlalazi have been amongst people who struggled to become beneficiaries of human settlements that is to own decent houses and a sustained livelihood. A community engagement project led by women academics from the University of Zululand, South Africa, in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) under the flagship of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) conducted research on women in rural spaces and investigated how they sustained themselves. This paper aims to trace the role played by the women academics in conducting research and the impact they had on the women in rural spaces, establish how women in uMlalazi sustained their livelihoods, and also investigate if the self-help groups and ukonga initiatives are aligned to SDG5. Moreover, this was an opportunity for women to be involved in economic empowerment through savings mobilisation and to be able to manage and sustain their livelihoods. Ukonga model used by the SHG is the lens used in the study to determine the level of support, administrative/basic bookkeeping skills, and stakeholder partnerships acquired to fight poverty. A qualitative systematic method was used to collect data on-site in Umlalazi where the women lived and operated their ukonga activities. Interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis describing women's voices was employed. The findings depict that woman benefitted from the ukonga project through the support received from the traditional authorities to utilise the land for agricultural purposes, evidence of renovated and newly built houses, and vegetable gardens where they sell their produce and consume surplus thereof. The study recommends that the human settlements department should strengthen support for women in rural spaces, and women academics/researchers should continue to drive women's initiatives to be aligned with SGD 5 on gender equality.