The state of women’s representation in politics

WOMEN’S activism in South Africa has a rich and powerful history that spans the various periods of struggle against inequality, apartheid, and for women’s rights.

Overall, women’s activism in South Africa has been a vital force in the fight for justice, equality, and human rights. Women activists have played pivotal roles in shaping the nation’s history and continue to drive change in the face of ongoing challenges.

Women remain in the periphery of society’s most powerful levers and instruments, years post the dawn of democracy. This is the case because patriarchy remains a stumbling block towards the total liberation of women. Communities, institutions, and organisations carry the mammoth task and responsibility to correct the socio-economic injustices of the past towards women, irrespective of background, culture, religion, and sexual identity.

This month of August, as we commemorate one of the most iconic events in South African women’s activism, the 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria… we need to pause and take stock of the gains as well as reflect on the gaps and the long journey ahead.

Thirty years into democracy, women’s representation in the political arena remains significantly low. For the 2021 Local Government Elections, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) reports that 63% of the councillors elected were male, and only 37% were female. Out of the 5 975 male councillors elected, 2 712 came from proportional representation (PR) lists, 3 214 from wards, and 49 were independents contesting wards.

Conversely, out of the 3 498 female councillors elected, 2 294 were from PR lists, 1 202 from wards, and two were independents who contested wards. These numbers tell us that political organisations carry the bigger responsibility to promote and ensure the names of women are included and supported in their PR lists because seemingly left to an absolutely open democratic system, communities will not prefer for their public representatives to be women.

However, even with the challenges, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and World Economic Forum report places South Africa in the 11th and 14th position, respectively, for parliament women representation compared to other countries worldwide. South Africa is also ranked second behind Rwanda in Africa. This means we are on the right track.

Ensuring women’s representation in public office is a vital aspect of promoting gender equality and inclusive governance in the country. Furthermore, increasing women’s representation in public office is an ongoing effort that requires collaboration between governments, civil society, political parties, and the broader public.

To further promote the inclusion of women in mainstream politics and public representative offices, there needs to be deliberate effort to make political spaces conducive for women to operate within and thrive, and secondly there needs to be the deliberate inclusion of women in decision making processes throughout the different value chains.

In this month of August, we pay an ode to the 20 000 strong women who taught us to raise our voices and place ourselves firmly in the revolution. Thanks to these women, we stand for public office, we participate openly in politics and we keep fighting for more inclusion of women in all sectors of society.