Twenty years of democracy and the politics of reproduction in South Africa

Abstract

Reproduction is political. This article is about how young women's experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in South Africa have been affected by politics. Early childbearing has been a norm for a great part of the twentieth century, particularly among South Africa's black and coloured populations. However, it was only in the 1970s that the issue of ‘teenage pregnancy’ was singled out as an area of concern and one that was worthy of study. The interest in teenage pregnancy emerged at a time when young black people were increasingly becoming more vocal and militant in their opposition to apartheid. They presented a potential destabilising force in the country. In 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) took over the reigns of power as South Africa's first democratically elected government. Once in power, the ANC, under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela, made addressing and correcting past injustices a key priority, particular efforts were made to address racial and gender inequalities. The article examines health policy and legislation with regard to women's sexual and reproductive rights. The article discusses three key Acts that were introduced in the first five years of democracy which had the potential to impact on young women's sexual and reproductive health. Using ethnographic and secondary data sources, I suggest that while the Acts were significant and even groundbreaking at the time that they were introduced, today for many poor, young black women in South Africa, their impact is negligible. The article has two aims. The first aim is to show the ways in which particular ideas about young women and their sexual behaviour have resulted in the development of policies that have profoundly affected young mothers abilities to parent – positively and/or negatively. The second aim of the article is to comment on the gradual movement away from the protection of women's rights that was important in the early years of ANC rule to the increasing disregard for young women's sexual and reproductive health rights that is currently evident in the Zuma era, as well as unabashed attempts to control young women's sexuality.