Texts and tests of equality: The Women's Charters and the demand for equality in South African political history

Abstract

abstractSouth African struggles for gender equality have been embodied in two charters produced in 1954 and 1994. To the extent that there is a manifesto of the South African women's movement, it may be found in these documents. The charters articulate a vision for a democratic society, and give content to the idea of gender equality as it may be achieved in the specific context of a postcolonial, post-apartheid future. This article argues that the charters are political signs that constitute the political community of women, lay out the agendas for collective action, and address the holders of power in society. The clauses of the two charters reflect continuities in the ambitions of women's organisations. Importantly, though, reading the charters from the perspective of two decades of democratic government it is also possible to detect how shifts in political and economic context have affected the possibilities for feminist ambitions to be realised. Thus the charters operate both as texts that form part of the democratic tradition, as well as tests for the ways in which the democratic State has advanced gender equality.