Stigma and self-representations. An anthropological study on poverty and disability in South Africa.

In South Africa, the link between disability and poverty are understood politically. The two categories are mutually dependent: the one cannot be conceived without the other. The poster on the front page is one example on how this perspective has been pre sented to the public. In policy plans, disability has been put on the agenda in a context of national change – a change away from the heritage of apartheid. Further, social processes which tend to build down barriers between people and communities are enc ouraged, and the aim is equal opportunities. Concepts such as diversity and differences have become significant as points of departure in addressing equality. This project will investigate how processes of transforming stigma have actively created possibi lities, and what kind of barriers maintain and generates stigma. The study will gain new knowledge about the link between disability and poverty. South Africa is celebrating 10 years of democracy in 2004. On a national level, the disability movements in S outh Africa have incorporated diversity into the agenda of creating an inclusive society. In the slogan “nothing about us without us” participation is required in agencies and government bodies (10 people with disabilities have become Members of Parliamen t). The movement wants to secure conditions in which human agencies can require and exercise more effective capacities for self-representation. This project will investigate the self-representation from the perspective of experiences of being disabled, wi th a focus on poor women/mothers and their children, in encounters with family members, neighbours, representatives from health institutions and other identified bodies. Using participant observation and multi-site ethnography, inter-subjective encounters and self-representation will be investigated. Combing discourse analysis and a Piercean semiotic framework, the production of stigma will be analysed on a local level. The project will bring new knowledge on the li