'A woman's home is her castle?' - Poor women and housing inadequacy in South Africa

South African Journal on Human Rights

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 517-545

  Chenwi, Lilian ^a   McLean, Kirsty ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE   (South Africa)

^b UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND   (South Africa)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84865038446     PISSN: 02587203     EISSN: 19962126     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/19962126.2009.11865215     Document Type: Article

References (221)

1. CON Moser & C Levy 'A Theory and Methodology of Gender Planning: Meeting Women's Practical and Strategic Needs' in C Moser & C Levy DPU Gender and Planning Working Paper No 11 (1986).
2. Ibid 3.
3. S Volbeda 'Housing and Survival Strategies of Women in Metropolitan Slum Areas in Brazil' (1989) 13 Habitat International 157, 159.
4. M Molyneux 'Mobilisation Without Emancipation? Women's Interests, the State and Revolution in Nicaragua' (1985) 11 Feminist Studies 227.
5. The concept of 'basic minima' is discussed in S Fredman 'Engendering Socio-Economic Rights' (2009) 25 SAJHR 410, 424.
6. These constraints are discussed in detail in part III(d) of this article.
7. See J Beall 'The Gender Dimensions of Urbanisation and Urban Poverty' Paper prepared for the Division for the Advancement of Women, United Nations, Vienna (1993) 3-4.
8. The concept of formal equality is discussed in Fredman (note 5 above) 418-22.
9. MC Nussbaum Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach (2000).
10. AK Sen Development as Freedom (1999).
11. See Fredman (note 5 above) 418-22 where she examines relevant jurisprudence in order to determine the extent to which substantive equality has infused socio-economic rights jurisprudence.
12. DJ Whelan 'Untangling the Indivisibility, Interdependency, and Interrelatedness of Human Rights' Economic Rights Working Paper Series Working Paper 7 (2008) 2 http://ideas.repec.org/p/uct/ecriwp/7.html.
13. See, for example, art 3 of the Proclamation of Teheran GA res 32/128 (1968) A/RES/32/128
14. United Nations res 32/130 (1977)
15. United Nations Vienna Declaration A/CONF.157/23 (1993) para 3. For further reading on the interdependence of human rights, see generally, C Scott 'The Interdependence and Permeability of Human Rights Norms: Towards a Partial Fusion of the International Covenants on Human Rights' (1989) 27 Osgoode Hall LJ 769, 778-90.
16. United Nations Fact Sheet 21: The Human Right to Adequate Housing http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet21en.pdf.
17. Government of the Republic of South Africa v Grootboom 2001 (1) SA 46 (CC) para 23.
18. See also paras 70-9. This case concerned the right to have access to adequate housing for those subject to evictions, including children's rights to adequate shelter.
19. See generally, COHRE Violence: The Impact of Forced Evictions on Women in Palestine, India and Nigeria (2002) 77. http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/COHRE%20Women%20Forced%20Evictions%202002.pdf.
20. National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, submitted to the UN in 1998 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/plan_actions/safrica_1.htm.
21. (1948) UN doc A/810 at 71.
22. (1966) 993 UNTS 3, UN doc A/6316 (signed by South Africa on 3 October 1994, but not yet ratified). The central international instruments for the interpretation of the ICESCR are the 'General Comments of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' (CESCR), in particular: General Comment 3 on the Nature of State Parties' Obligations (1990) contained in UN doc /1991/23 General Comment 4 on the Right to Adequate Housing (1991) contained in UN doc E/1992/23
23. General Comment 7 on the Right to Adequate Housing: Forced Evictions (1997) contained in UN doc E/1998/22 annex IV. General Comment 16 on the Equal Rights of Men and Women to the Enjoyment of all Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is also of relevance, contained in UN doc E/C.12/2005/3.
24. Hereinafter 'Habitat Agenda' http://ww2.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo and http://www. unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/1176_6455_The_Habitat_Agenda.pdf.
25. In addition to these documents, there are a number of international and regional treaties which are relevant to the international right to housing: The International Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) 189 UNTS 150 (acceded to by South Africa on 12 January 1996)
26. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) UN doc A/6014, 660 UNTS 195 ratified by South Africa on 10 December 1998); The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) UN doc A/34/46 (ratified by South Africa on 15 December 1995) (CEDAW)
27. The African Charter on Human and People's Rights (1981) (ratified by South Africa on 9 July 1996) (which has been read as containing an implied right to housing); The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) UN doc A/44/49 (ratified by South Africa on 16 June 1995)
28. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) (ratified by South Africa on 7 January 2000).
29. Ibid 39.
30. Ibid 46.
31. Ibid 40.
32. Hereinafter 'Istanbul Declaration' http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/2072_61331_ist-dec.pdf.
33. See also Agenda 21 (1992), adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and Development http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm.
34. See Fredman (note 5 above) 418-22 on the limitations of formal equality.
35. CEDAW (note 21 above).
36. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 41.
37. More recent case law has established a sixth requirement: there must be meaningful engagement by a municipality before it is constitutionally permitted to institute eviction proceedings against a large group of people in accordance with its housing strategy.
38. See Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township, and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v City of Johannesburg & Others 2008 (3) SA 208 (CC), and Residents of Joe Slovo Community, Western Cape v Thubelisha Homes (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Amici Curiae) 2010 (3) SA 454 (CC).
39. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 43.
40. Ibid 44.
41. Ibid 99.
42. Ibid 36.
43. See Fredman (note 5 above) 423-4 and the critique of socio-economic rights as providing only the basic minima. This point is discussed in greater detail in part IV(a) below.
44. Act 107 of 1997.
45. Act 50 of 1999.
46. Act 63 of 2000.
47. Act 19 of 1998.
48. Act 62 of 1997.
49. National Department of Housing A Social Housing Policy for South Africa: Towards an Enabling Environment for Social Housing Development (2003) http://www.housing.gov.za/Content/legislation_policies/Social%20Housing%20Policy.pdf.
50. National Department of Housing Breaking New Ground: A Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements (2004) http://www.capegateway.gov.za/Text/2007/10/bng.pdf.
51. National Department of Housing National Housing Programme: Upgrading of Informal Settlements (2004) Chapter 13, National Housing Code http://www.housing.gov.za.
52. Ibid Chapter 12, National Housing Code.
53. Housing Act s 2(1)(a), (c)(ii) & (iv), e(vi) & (x).
54. See Fredman (note 5 above) 411, 417, 422-5 & 439 and the discussion around the first aim of a capabilities and substantive equality approach to understand and address women's disadvantage.
55. Section 4. Adopted in 2000. A new Housing Code (2009) was recently approved.
56. National Department of Housing White Paper: A New Housing Policy and Strategy for South Africa (1994) http://www.housing.gov.za/Content/planned/Docs/Housing%20White%20Paper.pdf.
57. K Pillay, R Manjoo & E Paulus Rights, Roles and Resources: An Analysis of Women's Housing Rights - Implications of the Grootboom Case (2002) 18. Research paper written for the Women's Budget Initiative, Cape Town. For further discussion of the right to privacy in the housing rights context.
58. See I Westendorp 'Haven or Hell? The Effect of Domestic Violence on Women's Housing Rights' (2003) Africa Legal Aid Quarterly 8.
59. PIE Act s 4(6) & (7).
60. ESTA (note 39 above).
61. ESTA s 6(2)(d).
62. Pillay, Manjoo & Paulus (note 48 above) 17.
63. See part III(b) below.
64. Social Housing Policy (note 40 above).
65. Preamble to the Social Housing Policy (note 40 above).
66. BNG (note 41 above).
67. Ibid 1.
68. It should be noted that women's poverty has been described both multidimensional and multisectoral, as it is experienced in different ways at different times and in different spheres (see S Bradshaw Gendered Poverties and Power Relations: Looking Inside Communities and Households (2002) 11 http://www.cisas.org.ni/prsp/PDF/wpov_en.pdf.
69. UISP (note 42 above).
70. Ibid 5, 8, 15 & 46.
71. COHRE 'Women and Housing Rights in Africa' (2009) 3.
72. See also COHRE 'Women, Slums and Urbanisation' Issue Brief 5 (2009) http://www.cohre.org/women.
73. Ibid 8 & 9.
74. Emergency Housing Programme (note 43 above).
75. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 99.
76. See K McLean 'Housing' in S Woolman et al Constitutional Law of South Africa 2 ed 55-20 - 55-21.
77. E Emdon Expanding Abused Women's Access to Housing: Handbook for Shelter Workers and Domestic Violence Organisations (2007) 7. Prepared for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/gender/handbook.pdf.
78. The subsidy is available to households earning under R1,500 per month. Limited financial assistance in obtaining bank loans is available to those earning between R3,500 and R7,000 per month.
79. Immediately noticeable is the restrictive scope of the beneficiary group. By comparison, the text of the Constitution extends the right to 'everyone'. For example, persons who are not in a relationship or with dependants are excluded - this would include many young and elderly people. This restrictive provision of housing benefits may be subject to challenge in the future, where, on the basis of the holding in Khosa v Minister of Social Development; Mahlaule v Minister of Social Development 2004 (6) SA 505 (CC), the state would have to demonstrate that this restriction was reasonable or did not constitute unfair discrimination.
80. Pillay, Mangoo & Paulus (note 48 above) 16.
81. A Venter & L Marais 'Gender and Housing Policy in South Africa: Policy and Practice in Bloemfontein' (2006) 34 J of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences 69, 74, refer to 2003 statistics from the National Department of Housing indicating that 39 per cent of all housing subsidies that were allocated up to December 2002 went to female-headed households. With regard to Turflaagte, in the Mangaung Local Municipality (Bloemfontein), they note that between 2000 and 2004, morefemale- than male-headed (55,4 per cent vs 44,6 per cent) households in Turflaagte were subsidy beneficiaries. Due to the unavailability of gender-disaggregated data on subsidy beneficiaries, obtaining recent statistics becomes difficult.
82. See C Ndinda & UO Uzodike 'Accessing Housing Finance in South Africa: The Role of Women Activism' (2008) 6 Wagadu 75, 77 http://appweb.cortland.edu/ojs/index.php/Wagadu/article/viewArticle/356/67.
83. See K Rust 'No Shortcuts: South Africa's Progress in Implementing its Housing Policy, 1994- 2002'. Unpublished paper prepared for the Institute for Housing of South Africa (2003) 10 http://web.wits.ac.za/Academic/EBE/ArchPlan/Housing/Publications.htm. Access to formal credit is not solely a problem of financial institutions refusing to grant credit. Rather, there is a range of complex reasons for beneficiaries not wanting or not being able to afford formal credit, which arise independently of the subsidies.
84. See I Melzer 'How Low Can You Go?: Charting the Housing Finance Access Frontier: A Review of Recent Demand and Supply Data'. Unpublished paper prepared for the FinMark Trust (2006) 31-49 http://www.finmarktrust.org.za/documents/2006/MAY/AccessHF_report.pdf.
85. See Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 80 where low income is cited as a key constraint in women accessing finance for housing consolidation or qualifying for credit from financial institutions.
86. See also C Ndinda 'Housing Delivery in Nthutukoville, South Africa: Successes and Problems for Women (2003) 5(1) J of Int Women's Studies 29, 35.
87. South Africa's National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality, adopted by Cabinet in December 2000 http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/policy/gender.pdf.
88. C Marx 'Supporting Informal Settlements' in F Khan & P Thring (eds) Housing Policy and Practice in Post-apartheid South Africa (2003) 299, 306-7.
89. See MCR Craven The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Perspective on Its Development (1995) 334.
90. See, for instance, Grootboom (note 16 above), in which the Constitutional Court interpreted the constitutional duty of the state in relation to the right of access to adequate housing. Other decisions which develop the law of housing and evictions, include: Modder East Squatters v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd; President of the RSA v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd 2004 (8) BCLR 821 (SCA)
91. City of Johannesburg v Rand Properties (Pty) Ltd 2007 (6) SA 417 (SCA)
92. Port Elizabeth Municipality v Various Occupiers 2005 (1) SA 217 (CC)
93. President of the Republic of South Africa v Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd 2005 (5) SA 3 (CC)
94. Lingwood v The Unlawful Occupiers of R/E of Erf 9 Highlands 2008 (3) BCLR 325 (W)
95. Sailing Queen Investments v The Occupants La Colleen Court 2008 (6) BCLR 666 (W)
96. Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd v The Occupiers of Saratoga Avenue 2009 (3) BCLR 329 (W)
97. Olivia Road (note 29 above)
98. Joe Slovo (note 29 above)
99. Abahlali BaseMjondolo Movement SA v Premier of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal 2010 (2) BCLR 99 (CC).
100. See, for instance, Bhe v Magistrate, Khayelitsha; Shibi v Sithole
101. South African Human Rights Commission v President of the Republic of South Africa 2005 (1) SA 580 (CC), in which the Constitutional Court found the African customary law principle of male primogeniture to be unconstitutional as it constituted impermissible discrimination against women and girls.
102. See also Gumede v President of the Republic of South Africa 2009 (3) SA 152 (CC), on women's property ownership rights.
103. See for instance, National Department of Housing Mainstreaming Gender in the Housing and Human Settlement Sector (2006) 5 http://www.housing.gov.za/Content/Gender%20Guidelines/Gender_2006_p1-25.pdf.
104. BNG (note 41 above) 5.
105. Poverty should not be understood as a static condition because while some individuals, households or communities are permanently poor, others move into and out of poverty due to lifecycle and other changes.
106. South Africa has a Human Poverty Index (HPI) of 22,6 per cent.
107. See UNDP Human Development Indices: A Statistical Update 2008 http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Content.pdf.
108. Amnesty International Amnesty International Report (2008) http://archive.amnesty.org/air2008/eng/regions/africa/south-africa.html
109. State of the Nation Address of the President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, to the joint sitting of Parliament, Cape Town, delivered on 6 February 2009 http://www.pmg.org.za/briefing/20090206-state-nation-address.
110. S Chant New Contributions to the Analysis of Poverty: Methodological and Conceptual Challenges to Understanding Poverty from a Gender Perspective (2003) 10 http://www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/xml/6/13156/lcl1955i.pdf.
111. JD Triegaardt 'Reflections on Poverty and Inequality in South Africa: Policy Considerations in an Emerging Democracy' (2006) 3-4. Paper presented at the annual Association of South African Social Work education Institutions conference, organised by the Department of Social Work, University of Venda.
112. See, for instance, S Chant Female Household Headship and the Feminisation of Poverty: Facts, Fictions and Forward Strategies (2003) Issue 9 London School of Economics Gender Institute Working Paper Series 5-6.
113. See Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 78 where 2006 statistics are cited showing 22,6 per cent unemployment rate among men compared to 31,7 per cent among women, illustrative of the vulnerability of women to poverty.
114. See also D Budlender Women and Men in South Africa: Five Years On (2002) 36-7.
115. US Department of State 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Africa (2008) http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100505.htm.
116. See also Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 79 where a 2004 study in Ezilweleni (Durban) is cited which revealed that while women earned on average between R0 and R500, most men in the same settlement earned incomes in the range of R900 to R1,500 per month.
117. See generally, J Kehler 'Women and Poverty: The South African Experience' (2001) J of Int Women's Studies http://www.bridgew.us/SoAS/JIWS/fall01/kehler.pdf.
118. The impact of poverty on women's housing, land and property rights has been recognised in United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/25 on women's equal ownership, access to, and control over, land and the equal rights to own property and to adequate housing, 15 April 2005, contained in UN doc E/CN.4/2005/L.10/Add.10.
119. Venter & Marais (note 70 above) 73.
120. Amnesty International 'I Am at the Lowest End of All' - Rural Women Living With HIV Face Human Rights Abuses in South Africa (2008).
121. White Paper on Housing (note 47 above).
122. Statement by Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing on International Women's Day (2004) http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/Displacement/SpecRappHousing04.html.
123. See Minister of Housing, Minister Mabandla 'Promoting Access for Women in Housing' (2003) http://www.housing.gov.za/content/Media%20Desk/Speeches/2003/080803.htm.
124. Mission to South Africa. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, UN doc A/HRC/7/16/Add.3 (2008) para 87. Nonetheless, there are positive developments in this regard in certain areas: see the discussion in
125. A Claassens & S Mnisi 'Rural Women Redfining Land Rights in the Context of Living Customary Law' (2009) 25 SAJHR 491, 506-9.
126. Other forms of tenure include rental, cooperative housing, lease, emergency housing and informal settlements (see CESCR General Comment 4 (1991) para 8(a)).
127. These are some of the reasons that were advanced by the Ekuthuleni community with regard to why they want access to title. See Association of Rural Advancement (South Africa) "Securing Tenure at Ekuthuleni' http://www.landcoalition.org/cd_ILC/cd_commons/doc_case/CPR07_Case13_South_Africa_AFRA.pdf.
128. The Women's Legal Centre, for instance, reports that it has been dealing with a number of cases relating to women's names being on the subsidy but not the title deed of the house. S Charlton An Overview of the Housing Policy and Debates, Particularly in Relation to Women (or Vulnerable Groupings). Research report written for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (2004) 21 http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/gender/overviewofhousing.pdf.
129. US Department of State (note 88 above). Also, Women on Farms Project conducted a study in 2005 on wine farms in the Western Cape, which revealed that housing contracts were in the name of male partners. At the time of the study, there was not a single case of a housing contract being in the name of a woman worker. F Shabodien 'Livelihoods Struggles of Women farm Workers in South Africa' (2006) 2 http://www.wfp.org.za/pdf/livelihood_struggles_of_sa_women_farm_workers,_2006.pdf.
130. A subsequent study on wine and deciduous fruit farms confirmed that women were continuously discriminated against with regard to tenure rights. The study notes that though, in theory, women should have access to housing in their own name as they have employment contracts in their own names, in practice, they are not granted independent rights to housing.
131. See SANPERI 'The Position of Women Workers in Wine and Deciduous Fruit Value Chains' (2008) http://www.wfp.org.za/pdf/women_in_the_global_value_chain_final_28apr08.pdf.
132. Charlton (note 99 above) 18.
133. See generally C Walker 'Elusive Equality: Women, Property Rights and Land Reform in South Africa' (2009) 25 SAJHR 467
134. Claassens & Mnisi (note 96 above).
135. See, for instance, Nzimande v Nzimande 2005 (1) SA 83 (W).
136. Gumede (note 77 above).
137. Act 120 of 1998.
138. Section 7(2).
139. 16 of 1985.
140. Published in Proclamation R151 of 1987, Government Gazette No 10966 (Natal Code).
141. Gumede (note 77 above) para 34.
142. Ibid 36.
143. Ibid 35. See also Bhe (note 77 above) para 114.
144. Mabandla (note 95 above).
145. Kothari (note 96 above) para 85.
146. Charlton (note 99 above) 18
147. State of the Nation Address (note 83 above).
148. Venter & Marais (note 70 above) 72.
149. The Western Cape Department of Local Government and Housing, for instance, has a draft gender strategy that aims to shift the housing programme from a gender-neutral to a gender-specific programme, but the extent of its implementation is unclear. Western Cape Department of Housing Final Draft of a Gender Strategy http://www.capegateway.gov.za/Text/2003/gender_strategy_final_draft.pdf.
150. Venter & Marais (note 70 above) 74.
151. See also Ndinda & Uzodika (note 70 above) where statistics in KwaZulu-Natal show that 80 per cent of female-headed households pointed to low income as the main constraint to improving their housing conditions
152. Ndinda (note 72 above) 35 citing unemployment, low wages and lack of access to housing as constraints to women's access and participation in incremental housing.
153. Venter & Marais (note 70 above) 77.
154. Pillay, Mangoo & Paulus (note 48 above) 5. This is also the situation in Soweto.
155. See S Muthwa 'Female Household Headship and Household Survival in Soweto' (1994) 3 J of Gender Studies 165, 168.
156. Kothari (note 96 above) para 84.
157. US Department of State (note 88 above).
158. The Committee has interpreted the right to adequate housing in two of its general comments: General Comments 4 & 7. It is important to note that, though the Committee refers only in one instance to women, particularly women-headed households in General Comment 4, the General Comment isgender-neutral overall. Notwithstanding, the importance of general comments for women has been highlighted by Otto, who notes that they provide an important means of promoting gender-inclusive interpretations of treaty norms, gender-sensitive implementation practices and gender-responsive remedies (see D Otto '"Gender Comment": Why does the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Need a General Comment on Women?' (2002) 14 Canadian J of Women and the L 1, 3).
159. For further reading on the connections between domestic violence and the right to housing, see G Paglione 'Domestic Violence and Housing Rights: A Reinterpretation of the Right to Housing' (2006) 28 Human Rights Quarterly 120.
160. Commission on Human Rights res 2005/25 (note 90 above).
161. Sub-Commission res 1999/15 on women and the right to development, 25 August 1999; see also Sub-Commission res 1998/15 on women and the right to land, property and adequate housing, 21 August 1998; and Sub-Commission res 1997/19 on women and the right to adequate housing and land and property, 27 August 1997.
162. Such violence occurs at various levels - in the family, the community, by the state and globally. See statement by Kothari (note 94 above).
163. Kothari (note 96 above) para 84.
164. Women and Adequate Housing: Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, UN doc E/CN.4/2006/118 (2006) para 32.
165. Ibid para 33.
166. Pillay, Mangoo & Paulus (note 48 above) 9.
167. Shabodien (note 100 above) 2.
168. See generally, Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence against Women. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN doc E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.5 (2000).
169. H Combrinck & L Chenwi The Role of Informal Community Structures in Ensuring Women's Right to Have Access to Adequate Housing in Langa, Manenberg and Mfuleni (2007) http://zope3.ong.co.za/communitylawcentre.org.za/joint-projects/housing-project/publications/publication-archive/womens-property-rights.pdf/preview_popup/file.
170. For further reading on the link between gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS, see generally, Intersections of Violence against Women and HIV/AIDS. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk, UN doc E/CN.4/2005/72 (2005).
171. UNAIDS, South Africa: Country situation (2008) http://data.unaids.org/pub/FactSheet/2008/sa08_soa_en.pdf
172. UNAIDS, Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (2008) 40 and Annex 1: HIV/AIDS Estimates and Data 2007 http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008.
173. For further reading on women's housing rights in the context of HIV/AIDS, see COHRE Shelter from the Storm: Women's Housing Rights and the Struggle against HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (2009) http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/090731%20Shelter%20from%20the%20Storm%20FINAL.pdf.
174. General Comment 7 para 10.
175. See generally, COHRE (note 136 above).
176. South African Human Rights Commission Report on the Public Hearing on Housing, Evictions and Repossession (2008) 6 http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:dpkmipBmw7MJ:www.sahrc.org.za/sahrc_cms/downloads/Housing%2520Inquiry%2520Report2008.pdf+site:sahrc.org.za+Human+Rights+Commission+Report+on+the+Public+Hearing+on+Housing,+Evictions+and+Repossession&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za.
177. See also, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) South Africa: Law is no Protection from Eviction (2008) http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48e085e1c.html.
178. Abahlali baseMjondolo answering affidavit, 22 January 2009, paras 34 & 96 (in the case of MEC for Transport, KZN v Dlamini, Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA and eThekwini Municipality, Case No 16732, Durban High Court) http://abahlali.org/files/Siyanda%20_answering_.pdf.
179. CALS 'Forced Removal of Siyanda Residents to Transit Camps' (23 January 2009) http://www.ngopulse.org/press-release/forced-removal-siyanda-residents-transit-camps.
180. See also Abahlali baseMjondolo (note 140 above) para 39.
181. The transit camps have also been seen as breeding grounds for domestic violence, HIV transmission and assaults, and are highly unsuitable for permanent habitation. See Abahlali baseMjondolo (note 140 above) para 138.
182. Note 38 above. Preamble and s 4(6) & (7).
183. Joe Slovo (note 29 above) para 147.
184. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 77.
185. This position has been somewhat ameliorated in the Constitutional Court's subsequent decision in the case of Minister of Health & Others v Treatment Action Campaign 2002 (5) SA 721 (CC) para 39 (TAC) which held that the protection of children's socio-economic rights is not only triggered when children are physically separated from their parents, as some children are born to indigent parents who, in the context of the TAC case, are unable to gain access to private medical treatment.
186. See, for example, COHRE N2 Gateway Project: Housing Rights Violations as 'Development' in South Africa (2009) 27 http://abahlali.org/files/090911%20N2%20Gateway%20Project%20Report.pdf where it is observed that women are often tasked with the primary responsibility for taking care of children as well as the elderly.
187. Pillay, Mangoo & Paulus (note 48 above) 7.
188. South Africa's National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality, adopted by Cabinet (2000) http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/policy/gender.pdf.
189. Emdon (note 66 above) 11.
190. See B Masango 'Fed-Up Hostel Women want Decent Housing' (2 February 2009) http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090202004140413C730407. The situation at the Helen Joseph Women's Hostel in Alexandra is also illustrative of women's housing inadequacies. Women living in the hostel are faced with stench from leaking sewerage pipes; overcrowding with each of the rooms accommodating four families; water leaks from the roof; walls, doors and windows in a dilapidated state; and inadequate facilities (about 800 people sharing four toilets and bathrooms, and an old kitchen with gas stoves).
191. Fredman (note 5 above) 411, 417, 422-5 & 439.
192. Kothari (note 96 above) para 85.
193. Women and Adequate Housing. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, UN doc E/CN.4/2003/55 (2003) para 21.
194. National Department of Housing (note 78 above) 9.
195. Muthwa (note 119 above) 168.
196. Ibid 170-2.
197. A Omenya "Sustainable Self-Help Housing in South Africa?' Paper presented at the Conference of Housing and Urban Development in Sub Saharan Africa, Accra, Ghana (2002) 11 http://www.ecobuild-africa.com/pdf%20files/Sustainable%20Self-help%20Housing%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf.
198. S Bradshaw Gendered Poverties and Power Relations: Looking Inside Communities and Households (2002) 21-3 http://www.cisas.org.ni/prsp/PDF/wpov_en.pdf.
199. L Lingam Structural Adjustment, Gender and Household Survival Strategies: Review of Evidences and Concerns (2005) 13 http://www.cew.umich.edu/PDFs/pubs/lingamrept.pdf.
200. Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 83-7.
201. Established in 1995, it lends to any housing savings scheme where the members have secure tenure and building plans have been approved by the municipality, among other requirements.
202. See Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 84.
203. Established in 1999, it lends to housing subsidy beneficiaries with title deeds but no funds for housing consolidation that are members of savings groups.
204. See Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 85.
205. Ndinda & Uzodike (note 70 above) 85.
206. Ibid 87-8.
207. Fredman (note 5 above) 422-7.
208. Kothari (note 128 above) para 83.
209. General Comment 4 para 8(e). The Committee did not specifically refer to women but it referred to 'other groups' in addition to the listed groups. Women are generally regarded as a vulnerable group.
210. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 44.
211. Urban Sector Network Expanding Socio-Economic Rights and Access to Housing (2003) 43 http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADD242.pdf.
212. See eThekwini Municipality and Project Preparation Trust of KwaZulu-Natal Framework for the Provision of Housing Subsidies for Special Needs Housing (Including HIV/AIDS Relief) (2005) A submission to the National Department of Housing http://ftp.shf.org.za/tsn_framework_housing_subsidies.pdf
213. C Lund, R Ramogayane, L Poulsen & D Brand Exploring Transitional and Communal Housing as a Form of Social Housing in South Africa (2004)
214. Emdon (note 66 above) 19-20
215. Charlton (note 99 above) 29.
216. The City of Cape Town as well as the Department of Local Government and Housing (Western Cape) are currently developing a special needs housing policy. For further reading on special needs housing, see L Chenwi "Taking Those with Special Housing Needs from the Doldrums of Neglect: A Call for a Comprehensive and Coherent Policy on Special Needs Housing' (2007) 11(2) Law, Democracy and Development 1.
217. Fredman (note 5 above) 435.
218. L Chenwi "Housing Rights' in S Khoza Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa (2007) 229, 261.
219. The questionnaire is contained in Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, Entitled 'Human Rights Council' Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, UN doc A/HRC/4/18 (2007) Annex III
220. See also paras 16-20 of the Report.
221. Grootboom (note 16 above) para 23.