South African Women's Apartheid and Post-Apartheid Struggles: 1980-2014, (Paperback)

South African women were a dynamic anti-apartheid force, challenging patriarchy and all axes of oppression. In this book national concerns are covered with a focus on Western Cape grassroots women's structures. Though many initially organised as mothers, women transformed motherhood into empowering roles. This book sketches a pivotal time: 1980s states of emergency, negotiations ending apartheid and first twenty years of the new SA. Using interviews and reports, Gertrude shares women's trials and triumphs over this 35-year period. Through tracing women's political agency and resistance, it asserts that women profoundly contributed to the New SA. Post-94, new challenges of implementing progressive gender-sensitive policies abound. Currently many women are in government and decision-making positions. To what extent representation of women has constructively contributed to women's attaining citizenship, eradicating patriarchy, poverty and violence against women is evaluated. After 20 years of freedom in SA, despite progress, the struggle continues for women's comprehensive citizenship.