Section 217 of the Constitution of South Africa regulates the procurement of goods and
or services by any organ of state. Similarly, this section mandates state-owned
institutions to adhere to a procurement system that promotes groups that were
previously disadvantaged by past colonial and apartheid regimes. In this dissertation I
argue that due to South Africa’s oppressive culture, the law has been ineffective in
promoting the socio economic interests of black women due to race, gender and class
subjugation.
Firstly, central to my argument is the judiciary’s traditional role that is still steeped in an
interpretative process of the law that is detrimental to the transformative spirit of the
Constitution. In identifying the South African judiciary system as positivistic in nature I
will critically analyse the Sonke Gender Justice Network v Malema hate speech court
case. I posit that the Equality Court’s decision was mainly result based and as a result
fell short of addressing the core issues affecting black women on the basis of race,
gender and class which mirror the substantial part of the South African socio economic
structure. Secondly, in support of my argument, I criticise a legislative framework that
perpetuates socio economic disparities at the expense of a group in society it claims to
protect. Whilst I will rely on American Legal Realism and Critical Legal Studies in
support of my arguments, my main theoretical approach will be based on Critical Race
Feminism. Lastly, intersectionality will be used in contextualising the interrelationships
of race, gender and class as they impact on black women’s material circumstances in
the regulatory legislative public procurement process.
When the Constitution came into effect in 1994 South Africa became an egalitarian
state. Nevertheless, the country is struggling with the prevalence of unemployment,
poverty, HIV/Aids, skills shortages, male violence including rape, to name just a few.
These social ills pose a threat to a Constitution that extolls values like dignity, freedom
and equality for all. It so happens also that the majority of the people confronted by
these socio economic challenges are black women. The tender process faces numerous challenges and by identifying the South African
culture as oppressive supported by a legal process that stifles transformation, this study
expounds the experiences of black women by engaging in a contextual analysis of the
courts and legislation. This consciousness raising exercise is not meant to portray black
women as victims or invoking “special treatment” in the legal realm. It resonates with
Steve Biko’s theme of black consciousness, being aware of the marginalisation and
addressing it. Black consciousness represents an emancipatory state and optimistic
outlook. Consciousness raising situates the oppression of black women in any form as a site for struggle, a struggle for social and individual change. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Jurisprudence / unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/36789 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Nyawo, Pamela |
| Contributors | Van Marle, Karin |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Mini Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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