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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Redefining the public space: women's organisations, gender consciousness and civil society in South Africa
Authors:Hassim, ShireenISNI
Gouws, AmandaISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies
Volume:25
Issue:2
Pages:53-76
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:political systems
feminism
organizations
Equality and Liberation
Status of Women
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589349808705064
Abstract:During the period 1991-1994, women's organizations in South Africa achieved an unprecedented level of organizational strength in the formation of a coalition, the Women's National Coalition (WNC). Since 1994, however, the coalition has ceased to be the centre of public gender politics, and has been replaced by actors within and around the State. At the same time the relatively open nature of policy formulation in democratic South Africa has generated a local-level revival of women's organizations responding to a range of policy initiatives to address women's social and economic concerns. In this article, the authors attempt to understand the significance of these changes in the political landscape of gender. They focus on the following issues: the use of notions of civil society from a feminist perspective; changes within the women's movement which enabled the WNC to achieve a significant presence in national politics during the 1990s; and the question of whether the engagement with the State, and the institutionalization of gender inside the State, has led to the demobilization of the movement. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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