Shakila Singh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Shakila Singh

Culture, Health & Sexuality

Gender, Sexuality and Violence in South African Educational Spaces, 2021

Agenda, 2015

abstract Sexual assault is a serious and urgent concern at university campuses. The fear of sexua... more abstract Sexual assault is a serious and urgent concern at university campuses. The fear of sexual assault is widespread and expressed almost exclusively by women. This briefing explores female students’ fears about sexual violence and the spaces within which they feel vulnerable while at university, with a view to planning effective interventions to address their fears. This was done by working with them towards understanding the nature and extent of sexual violence, how to deal with it when it occurs and, most importantly, how to prevent it. The analysis draws on the responses of 133 female students at a university in KwaZulu-Natal, who participated in an online survey titled ‘Safer learning environments’, which comprised of closed- and open-ended questions. The findings reveal that the fear of sexual assault is widespread, especially amongst women living in university residences. The people most feared are outsiders and male students. Given the powerful ways in which female students’ activities on campus are shaped and constrained by their fear of sexual violence, it is important to gain their perspectives on how sexual violence is understood, how it is reported, and how it can be addressed. Comprehensive interventions that include and move beyond strengthening security measures and punishment are critical. These have to actively engage students in reflecting on and challenging social and cultural norms that normalise violence against women.

Agenda, 2011

... However, some young women displayed a sense of independence and self-reliance. For exampleRes... more ... However, some young women displayed a sense of independence and self-reliance. For exampleReshma stated: I do plan on getting married, not right away. ... For example: I would love to get married and have someone to share my life and to cherish me and to grow old with. ...

Perspectives in Education, 2018

Health Education Journal, 2015

Objectives: In the context of women’s vulnerability to sexual violence, HIV infection and uninten... more Objectives: In the context of women’s vulnerability to sexual violence, HIV infection and unintended pregnancy in South Africa, this paper explores the ways in which teenage mothers who are in school reflect on their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood. We attempt to understand how teenage mothers reflect on their experiences within the cultural and institutionalised discourses in which they are embedded, and how their reflections lead to critical assessment and questioning of the dominant discourses of femininity that compromise women’s sexual health. Methods: This paper draws on findings from a study with a selected group of teenage mothers in a Durban school. Main data collection strategies comprised individual and group interviews. Participants’ reflections on their experiences of teenage motherhood are discussed in relation to three themes: ‘regret and pride’, ‘contesting female victimhood’ and ‘lessons learned’. Results: Many teenage mothers indicate that being pregnant an...

There is a growing realisation of the vital role that Higher Education institutions in South Afri... more There is a growing realisation of the vital role that Higher Education institutions in South Africa can and should play in keeping students not only alive, well and productive but also prepared to face the multiple challenges associated with living and working in the context of the HIV & AIDS pandemic. This article reports on part of a larger research project that explores the experiences and work of university educators who are involved in curriculum innovating through integrating HIV & AIDS in their teaching at a South African ...

African Historical Review, 2011

Sexual identity has emerged into the national discourse of post-apartheid South Africa, bringing ... more Sexual identity has emerged into the national discourse of post-apartheid South Africa, bringing the subject of rights and the question of gender relations and cultural authenticity into the focus of the nation state’s politics. This book is a fascinating reflection on the effects of these discourses on non-normative modes of sexuality and intimacy and on the country more generally. While in 1996, South Africa became the first country in the world that explicitly incorporated lesbian and gay rights within a Bill of Rights, much of the country has continued to see homosexuality as un-African. Henriette Gunkel examines how colonialism and apartheid have historically shaped constructions of gender and sexuality and how these concepts have not only been re-introduced and shaped by understandings of homosexuality as un-African but also by the post-apartheid constitution and continued discourse within the nation.

Sexualities, 2007

This article explores gender power relations and the contradictions and confusions associated wit... more This article explores gender power relations and the contradictions and confusions associated with sexual identity and normative (hetero-)sexual practices. Theories of ‘identity’ and ‘performativity’ are used to understand the relationships between young women's sexual identity constructions and sexual practices within the context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The discussion focuses on young women's accounts of their feminine identities with respect to issues of intimacy and romantic love; pregnancy, virginity and respect; desire, danger and disease; future marriage and family. It highlights the fragility and ambiguity in the processes of identity construction and performance of heterosexual femininity in an HIV/AIDS environment. Significantly, the dominant discourses of femininity through which these young women made sense of their sexual selves, stood in direct contradiction to their sexual safety. Given this, greater understanding of these identity processes would appear v...

There is a growing realisation of the vital role that Higher

South African journal of higher education, 2015

As an interdisciplinary team of researchers, we sought ways of encouraging discussion, reflexivit... more As an interdisciplinary team of researchers, we sought ways of encouraging discussion, reflexivity and generative thinking around HIV and AIDS integration in higher education curricula. We facilitated conversations in three higher education research settings through the medium of a digital animation based on a storyboard prepared in response to experiences of university educators who integrate HIV and AIDS-related issues in their teaching. We screened the digital animation and encouraged responses from the three audiences, then used these responses together with our own deliberations to explore the 'what' and 'how' of making public our work. Using digital animation for generative action, we found that the four conceptual and methodological features of generative processes (playfulness, passion, perspicacity and participation) that we identified through previous research may be extended to a fifth - that of publicising research, or 'going public', which played...

Perspectives in Education, 2015

As an interdisciplinary team of educational researchers we explored pre-service science teachers&... more As an interdisciplinary team of educational researchers we explored pre-service science teachers' perspectives on using digital technologies and social media to address socially relevant issues in science teaching. The rationale for teaching socially relevant science was embedded in the concept of renaiscience, thus underscoring the need for science to be perceived as a human activity. We drew on generational theory to consider the educational significance of digital technologies and social media. Two different activities were used to elicit the pre-service science teachers' perspectives. First, we invited them to reflect on a digital animation that we had produced, and they highlighted the advantages of digital animation as a medium to communicate a socially relevant message more appealingly to the Millennial generation. We then engaged these pre-service teachers in a structured concept-mapping activity to consider how digital technologies and social media might be used to ...

South African Journal of Education

School-based violence is serious, and on the rise in South African schools. The violence affects ... more School-based violence is serious, and on the rise in South African schools. The violence affects learners, teachers, communities and the management of schools. Towards finding possible ways to manage school violence, this article presents social networking as a strategic tool in the management of school-based violence in high schools, based on the results of a study carried out in the uMgungundlovu district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative approach as a result of the interpretative nature of the causes of school-based violence in high schools. The sample of the study was made up of 18 participants and in-depth interviews were the main data collection instruments in the study. Content analysis using NVivo was employed in analysing data collected in the study. The study revealed how school managers employ social networking as information gathering tool and as a support mechanism in the management of school-based violence in high schools. The information gathered by school managers through social networking enable them develop intervention strategies in high schools that reduce school-based violence and create school climates that promote teaching and learning.