<p>In this study, I examine how women Parliamentarians understand their political influence within the South African Parliament and what environmental factors contribute to this understanding. Currently, South Africa is a global leader for the amount of women in Parliament and has been since the 1994 democratic transition. This study examines the formal and informal factors that South African women parliamentarians discuss as helping and hindering their political effectiveness.</p> <p><br /> Aside from the work of Hassim (2003) and Pandor (1999), little academic research explores the experiences of women within South Africa&rsquo / s Parliament. Considering this lack of research regarding women&rsquo / s experiences within government, I selected a research method that would allow an open space for communication: semi-structured interviews with a qualitative feminist analysis. This study explores the opportunities and obstacles that the women perceived as affecting their political influence.<br /> The participant&rsquo / s responses indicate that they perceive a high level of political influence, with some reservations. Four themes emerged as the leading environmental factors in contributing to the participant&rsquo / s political efficacy: the 1994 democratic transition, the Parliament structure (formal and informal), the political party, and the role of gender.</p> <p><br /> The informal structures of Parliament, such as socializing spaces, and gender stereotypes, such as the responsibility of women Parliamentarians for &lsquo / women&rsquo / s issues&rsquo / , were discussed as the primary obstacles that hinder the women Parliamentarian&rsquo / s political influence.</p> <p><br /> The participants felt that the attitudes of political parties regarding women&rsquo / s role in Parliament was critical in facilitating their influence on the political agenda. The women Parliamentarians credited primarily the African National Congress (ANC) political party for framing and developing an atmosphere that mandated women&rsquo / s strong participation in government and their positive perceptions of political influence.</p>

<p>In this study, I examine how women Parliamentarians understand their political influence within the South African Parliament and what environmental factors contribute to this understanding. Currently, South Africa is a global leader for the amount of women in Parliament and has been since the 1994 democratic transition. This study examines the formal and informal factors that South African women parliamentarians discuss as helping and hindering their political effectiveness.</p> <p><br /> Aside from the work of Hassim (2003) and Pandor (1999), little academic research explores the experiences of women within South Africa&rsquo / s Parliament. Considering this lack of research regarding women&rsquo / s experiences within government, I selected a research method that would allow an open space for communication: semi-structured interviews with a qualitative feminist analysis. This study explores the opportunities and obstacles that the women perceived as affecting their political influence.<br /> The participant&rsquo / s responses indicate that they perceive a high level of political influence, with some reservations. Four themes emerged as the leading environmental factors in contributing to the participant&rsquo / s political efficacy: the 1994 democratic transition, the Parliament structure (formal and informal), the political party, and the role of gender.</p> <p><br /> The informal structures of Parliament, such as socializing spaces, and gender stereotypes, such as the responsibility of women Parliamentarians for &lsquo / women&rsquo / s issues&rsquo / , were discussed as the primary obstacles that hinder the women Parliamentarian&rsquo / s political influence.</p> <p><br /> The participants felt that the attitudes of political parties regarding women&rsquo / s role in Parliament was critical in facilitating their influence on the political agenda. The women Parliamentarians credited primarily the African National Congress (ANC) political party for framing and developing an atmosphere that mandated women&rsquo / s strong participation in government and their positive perceptions of political influence.</p>

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In this study, I examine how women Parliamentarians understand their political influence within the South African Parliament and what environmental factors contribute to this understanding. Currently, South Africa is a global leader for the amount of women in Parliament and has been since the 1994 democratic transition. This study examines the formal and informal factors that South African women parliamentarians discuss as helping and hindering their political effectiveness.Aside from the work of Hassim (2003) and Pandor (1999), little academic research explores the experiences of women within South Africa&rsquo;s Parliament. Considering this lack of research regarding women&rsquo;s experiences within government, I selected a research method that would allow an open space for communication: semi-structured interviews with a qualitative feminist analysis. This study explores the opportunities and obstacles that the women perceived as affecting their political influence.The participant&rsquo;s responses indicate that they perceive a high level of political influence, with some reservations. Four themes emerged as the leading environmental factors in contributing to the participant&rsquo;s political efficacy: the 1994 democratic transition, the Parliament structure (formal and informal), the political party, and the role of gender.The informal structures of Parliament, such as socializing spaces, and gender stereotypes, such as the responsibility of women Parliamentarians for &lsquo;women&rsquo;s issues&rsquo;, were discussed as the primary obstacles that hinder the women Parliamentarian&rsquo;political influence.The participants felt that the attitudes of political parties regarding women&rsquo;s role in Parliament was critical in facilitating their influence on the political agenda. The women Parliamentarians credited primarily the African National Congress (ANC) political party for framing and developing an atmosphere that mandated women&rsquo;s strong participation in government and their positive perceptions of political influence. / South Africa

This thesis compared the status of women's political participation in Cameroon and South Africa through an assessment conducted against the backdrop key of international, regional and national human rights standards. The aim of this thesis was not only, to be conscious of women's absence in politics, but to also take steps to redefine sound strategies to implement gender equality in terms of the political participation of women on the part of governments.

M.Comm. / The main purpose of this study is an evaluation and empirical analysis of the economical, social and political role of women in a South African context. The subject is a widely discussed topic both internationally and in South Africa. The increasing importance of women in the social, political and economic arena is being realized and taken as a given part of development in any country. Within the social structure of an economy, the importance of the education system cannot be over emphasized. Opportunities for women in this aspect has increased rapidly over the past two decades, but a significant gap still exists between men and women. The connection between poverty and education is discussed, and it is found that there is a definite correlation. The higher the level of education, the lower the level of poverty. The supply of adequate health services are also a problem in most countries, including South Africa. Important aspects such as abortions and violence against women are also under discussion. The political arena is most probably the area where women is the least represented. Opportunities are scarce and the political scene is still one of male dominance. However, South Africa is definitely seen as one of the leaders in developing counties in opening doors for women in obtaining seats in regional 'councils and parliament. Concerning women's economic role, women earn far less than men for similar type of work done, and men are usually placed in more challenging positions. The distribution of income worldwide as well as in South Africa is still not evenly spread

This thesis is an examination of the African National Congress Women's League publication Voice of Women, from 1976-1989. The Voice of Women was the only regular publication produced in affiliation with the ANC that was directly targeted at -- and primarily produced by -- women. Through an examination of the articles and images within this publication, supplemented with meeting minutes, published interviews, ANC press statements and newspaper articles, this work attempts to understand the relationship between the ANC Women's League as an auxiliary body dedicated to the overall aims of the parent body of the ANC and the Women's League as an organisation capable of forwarding women's rights while putting women's concerns at the forefront of the political landscape. The history of the publication's inception, funding, audience and editorial concerns during the 1971-1979 period are covered in Chapter One of this dissertation, as the language of the publication was honed and refined to a militant pitch. Images of women as mothers and militant fighters are explored in depth in Chapters Two and Four, particularly the use of the term "mother of the nation" as an image promulgated by the ANC as the ideal type of "woman" involved in the liberation movement. Chapter Three covers the negotiation between the ANC Women's Secretariat's desire to launch a campaign against Oepo Provera while simultaneously forwarding the aims of the ANC by altering the scope of the campaign to encompass the National Party's family planning programme. Finally, the epilogue of this dissertation briefly addresses the subsequent failure of the Women's League to enact effective women's campaigns inside the country after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990. The political turmoil that the ANCWL experienced under the leadership of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela can be examined as a dissolution of the carefully negotiated landscape the ANCWL tread with the ANC throughout its period in exile as portrayed in the pages of VOW. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This thesis compared the status of women's political participation in Cameroon and South Africa through an assessment conducted against the backdrop key of international, regional and national human rights standards. The aim of this thesis was not only, to be conscious of women's absence in politics, but to also take steps to redefine sound strategies to implement gender equality in terms of the political participation of women on the part of governments.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

M.A. / The dissertation analyses the political involvement of two women's organisations, Kontak and Women for Peace, during the period 1976-1990. Both organisations were established in the political watershed year of 1976. Kontak had its roots in `verligte' Afrikaner thinking concerned primarily about the image of the Afrikaner as oppressor. Women for Peace stemmed from the heart of liberal capitalist thinking fearing that the welfare community was under threat. Both organisations thus arose from the privileged white establishment and in this aspect differ from the many other women's organisations that existed in the period under review. The meaning of "political involvement" is defined in the study and evaluated in terms of the protest registered against the apartheid system, the ideological stand that was taken and the extent to which race relations improved. The latter was after all an essential objective of both organisations, more particularly to end conflict than to ensure a complete transition to democracy. The positioning, objective and conduct of the abovementioned organisations must of necessity be highlighted against the background of the oppressive political situation of the day. For this reason the study provides an overview of the political context within which the organisations had to function. It commences with the riots of 1976 when the National Party came under increasing pressure to scale down apartheid and make it more acceptable. Mention is made of the power of the National Party to equate matters of national interest with discrete party political interests. Further mention is made of the unbridgeable gap between intra-parliamentary and extra-parliamentary politics and how the decisive power of the latter was publicly suppressed. The impossibility of "political neutrality" is emphasised and that was precisely the label that the two organisations under discussion would have liked to attach to themselves. Kontak and Women for Peace were not the only players in the field of women's organisations. The study briefly discusses a few of the other main players such as the ANC Women's League, Inkatha's Women's Brigade and the Black Sash. Both Kontak and Women for Peace explicitly stated that they wished to seek reconciliation and peace between privileged whites and disadvantaged blacks "outside of the party-political arena". Neither of them could escape their political roots, however. The new enlightenment in the National Party for example prevented Kontak from taking an increasingly critical stand against apartheid. In the same way the much sharper voice of the Women for Peace was silenced by the approval of liberal PFP thinking. Both organisations registered protest within the safety of intra-parliamentary politics. They constituted no revolutionary threat for the apartheid state and their leaders were neither imprisoned nor banned. In summary it can be said that both Kontak and Women for Peace were able to realise the objectives of reconciliation within their chosen but limited target groups. Praiseworthy projects were undertaken and strong anti-apartheid positions were adopted. Democratic adjustments were constantly made with regard to membership, leadership hierarchy and language orientation. As far as the political main stream was concerned both, however, were wrongly positioned. The black majority moved in extra-parliamentary circles, outside the field of experience and even the protest actions of privileged whites. For this reason Kontak and Women for Peace were unable to contribute directly to the democratic transition to black majority rule but to some extent succeeded in sensitising the privileged white communities to accept change.

M.A. / The study purports to trace and analyse how African women used local structures in the 1950's and 1960's to seek redress against the policies of racial segregation. This study intends showing how African women have piloted local organisations during the period under review, how they resisted all attempts by the local municipal council to have women removed from the location and how women rejected the authority of the local boards. Protest movements and organisations, and the type of political activity women engaged in before the 1950's, have been largely ignored by the few writers who have considered the matter at all. This has resulted in the assumption that there were no women's activities prior to 1950. C. Kros wrote: "...(that) there is a general assumption that until the 1950's women were passive and took a back seat in all spheres except forone or two outbursts of activity, like for instance the resistance against the passes in the Free State in 1913." 3 The study purports to dispel the myth that African women were inactive prior to 1950: This study shows that the emergence of the squatter settlement in the late 1940's was spearheaded by African women who had nowhere to settle, except by pitching up shacks. By early 1940 urban workers found it increasingly difficult to obtain suitably priced residential accommodation as no new houses were built. The study will analyse how Sofasonke Mpanza, a member of the Orlando Advisory Board and the leader of the Sofasonke Mpanza Party, was able to win adherents to his party, the majority of whom were women and why African women in Orlando defied the Municipal Council's regulations and pitched up "shelters" which came to be known as the "Shanty Town".