Journal of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities (Sep 2021)
Evolution or devolution? The status of the South African women’s movement in a post-colonial trajectory
Abstract
This article explored the evolution of the South African women’s movement in a post-colonial dispensation since 1994. Women’s inclusion is dated as far back as the 1913’s when women protested against the pass laws in the Orange Free State and can be connected to the success of overcoming the apartheid regime. The article argues that the agency of women in formal political structures has been largely downplayed, with women still being underrepresented as decision takers. In the aftermath of democratic transition, the women’s movement has weakened, in comparison to their inclusion and active status under the apartheid regime. This is primarily because the South African women’s movement cannot be categorised into representing one women’s group or one constituency of women. The South African women’s movement was centred on diversity and included a number of women’s organisations and the interests that were driven by the diverse women facing multiple intersectional challenges. The women that formed part of the women’s movement were categorised into those that focused on eradicating the apartheid regime and tackling every day challenges women faced related to the grassroots needs of their communities. Through a conceptual analysis, this study explores the idea of a women’s movement through the groupings of political structures of the state and political parties. There is also not enough literature on post-liberation, and democratic transition periods and the relationships between women and political parties, as this has been studied in more industrialised developed states. As such, gender equality is largely dependent on the presence of an active and autonomous women’s movement, aligned to a strong agenda driven within equal and inclusive structures to ensure an evolutionary, women’s movement representing the needs of their constituency.
