The adoption of the 1996 Constitution in recognition of the historic imbalances that
South Africa inherited from its past, affirms the commitment to the promotion of human
rights including the right to equality. The emphasis on the right to equality in the
Constitution and other related laws discussed in the study represents a guarantee for
both men and women the right to equal treatment and benefit of the law.
The point of departure is based on the premise that views the law as an instrument that
has the potential to effect social change. The primary purpose is to determine various
factors that are an impediment to the significance of the law for the promotion of the right
to gender equality. The objective is to establish with sufficient certainty the substantive
conception of the right to gender equality in post-apartheid South Africa.
This dissertation examines and provides a brief overview of the development and the
intersection of the principles of non-discrimination at the international and regional
spheres and their influence in broadening the scope for enforcement of gender equality
in South Africa. It provides a literature review and an analysis of the equality
jurisprudence of South Africa’s Constitutional Court and its influence to the lowest
structures of the judiciary in promoting the right to gender equality. This undertaking is
reinforced by the primary purpose in this study of examining various factors that are an
impediment to the promotion of the right to gender equality.
It discovers that the establishment of a “just society” is difficult where the significance of
the law is affected by the lack of legal knowledge and other related factors identified in
the study. It establishes that the promotion of the right to gender equality is a gradual
process that should not be undertaken overnight but on a continuous basis.
It can be drawn from the findings in this study that the law “alone” is limited in its
application in addressing socio-legal problems. Despite the limitation, the use of law is
not a goal that should be discarded as it lays the framework for the determination of the
significance of legal measures for social change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/4252 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Ntlama, Nomthandazo Patience |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xii, 386 p.) |
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