N. Bohler-Muller

Other Possibilities? Postmodern Feminist Legal Theory in South Africa

(2002). Other Possibilities? Postmodern Feminist Legal Theory in South Africa. South African Journal on Human Rights: Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 614-629.

What the Equality Courts can learn from Gilligan's ethic of care: a novel approach

ABSTRACT Section 16 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 makes provision for the creation of equality courts. This article explores the role that these courts could play in transforming South Africa into a more egalitarian society. In particular, the role of Carol Gilligans ethic of care in legal interpretation and adjudication is considered, and an attempt is made to extend this ethic (in combination with the ethic of justice) in a non-essential way as a transformative constitutional value in the light of principles of collective justice and ubuntu(ism). The aim is to illustrate how this indigenised ethic could assist the equality courts in deciding ‘hard cases’ with an emphasis on listening to the stories told by previously silenced and disadvantaged groups. The importance of developing and transforming the concept of justice in a democratic society is emphasised and the possibility of incorporating substantive human relations into our understanding of legal equality analysed. This approach is contrasted with the mere reliance on the application of mechanical rules to solve legal/moral dilemmas relating to the constitutional right to equality.

Social justice for the poor: The framing of socioeconomic rights in selected South African newspapers

Apartheid South Africa created a society of deep-seated inequalities divided along race, class, and gender lines. The promotion of socioeconomic rights and redistributive justice is thus an important element in the country’s on-going transformation. This article analyzes the framing of stories on socioeconomic rights by three South African national newspapers. Using a combination of framing analysis and critical political economy insights, we show that although the newspapers foreground the importance of socioeconomic rights and recognize voices of the marginalized, the majority of the stories contain gaps and silences on critical issues concerning the structural causes of inequality and socioeconomic injustices in South Africa. The argument concludes by motivating a rethinking of the country’s normative media frameworks for the development of a journalism practice that would resonate in a country characterized by social polarization and material inequalities.

‘Let’s talk about sex’: the state of gender in IORA for a future agenda

ABSTRACT Gender equality is high on the global agenda. With the adoption of the sustainable development goals, the world reaffirmed its commitment to advance gender equality and the empowerment of all women and children. In this context, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) committed itself to gender equality through advancing women’s economic empowerment [IORA (2016). Declaration on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Retrieved from http://www.iora.net/media/168553/iora_declaration_on_gender_equality_and_women_s_economic_empowerment_2016.pdf]. At the heart of sustainable development for the IORA countries is the need for women’s economic empowerment. Drawing on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2016 Human Development Report Statistical Annex and the World Bank’s report [(2016). Women, business and law index. Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data/exploretopics/protecting-women-from-violence], this paper presents a baseline analysis of gender, transformation, and development within the IORA. The paper analyzes gender and transformation within IORA focusing on policy directives for gendered development and transformation. We argue to advance gender transformation within IORA, a political imaginary of what a gender-equal IORA entails is an essential component of gendered developmental policy within the region. This requires building transnational feminist and women empowerment networks to create discursive feminist frameworks that guide women empowerment and gender justice within IORA, contributing to a transformed understanding of diplomacy within the region.

Life after judgment: the Nokotyana case re-examined*

ABSTRACT The progressive realisation of socio-economic rights as enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution remains a pipe dream for many poor and vulnerable people, 23 years after the collapse of apartheid. In the case of Nokotyana and Others v Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and Others, the Constitutional Court (CC) decided on the interpretation of the rights of access to basic services such as sanitation and high mast lighting. In this case, community members from Harry Gwala informal settlement near Johannesburg compelled the state, through courts of law, to upgrade the settlement and to provide basic services. Although the CC did not engage with the content of the socio-economic rights claimed by the community, it did eventually order the state to upgrade the settlement within fourteen months of the judgment. This article discusses the extent to which the state complied with the judgement and what kinds of challenges were experienced in implementing the court order. Empirical data was collected through interviews with different actors. The findings highlight the complexities surrounding implementation of the court judgement.

Developing the right to social security – a gender perspective

Beth Goldblatt’s book Developing the Right to Social Security – A Gender Perspective (2016) is a gem in many ways. The topic is relevant, the approach to the subject is refreshing (and provocative) and the writing style is accessible to a wide range of readers, including policy-makers who should, in my view, find ways of implementing the ideas she has shared on a gendered right to social security. The book is divided into three parts, the first laying out the conceptual approach (Chapters 1–3); the second part consisting of comparative country studies on South Africa, Australia and India (Chapters 4–6); and the last part containing broad recommendations drawn from her analysis (Chapter 7). With regard to the conceptual framework, Goldblatt lays out her feminist, rights-based understanding of the damaging effects of patriarchy and male privilege within the context of poverty and inequality. She then considers whether international law has taken this into account in its development of the right to social security. The starting point is an obvious one, namely that women suffer poverty disproportionately on a global scale. A central argument here is about the ‘feminisation’ of work and labour (p. 3), which remains an important theme throughout the book. As Goldblatt puts it:

BOOK REVIEW: Global and regional leadership of BRICS countries

African conduct in the matters discussed. Kwesi Aning and Nancy Anan’s chapter provides useful insights on how Mali turned the corner from conflict to peace and democracy through a combination of diplomatic efforts and negotiations under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This is against the backdrop of irresponsible military interventions by Western powers, often without consulting with regional states and organisations, as well as the evolution of the African Peace and Security Architecture joining regional organisations with the AU, and the AU states’ contributions to global peace efforts. It admits in the end that it does not focus on African conceptual contributions, rather on empirical stories. So, what is African about this chapter is the case studies discussed, rather than the framing. Heidi Hudson’s impassioned case for understanding African marginalisation as a function of the gendered nature of IR discourses is enlightening, but hardly any of this considers African and black feminist thought that has flowered over the past two decades especially. The small exception is the recognition of the concept of intersectionality for analysing the gender–security interface. She brings out African feminist voices very briefly, and only to warn against generalising to the whole of Africa what she assumes to be localised experiences that the likes of Oyeronke Oyewumi, Patricia McFadden and Ifi Amadiume discuss (p. 49). She concludes with hope for the feminisation of African IR, which should have begun with her chapter outlining the African/black feminist meditations on security. The book is an important addition to the growing literature on Africa’s contributions to social science, but it does not challenge the status quo to the extent its title promises. It does not seek to shift the geography of reason or the locus from which Africa is enunciated in IR, but is making a request for the inclusion of Eurocentric mainstream through what UKbased scholars call global IR. It seeks to prove to Eurocentrism that Africa’s story does meet some of the conventions of mainstream scholarship in two areas: the empirical chapters show that there is a lot of activities and developments to study and the theoretical ones seek to fit the African archive in the mainstream theorising. The book should be useful for students of IR broadly and those interested in debating African social science. It is also suitable for general readers with an interest in Africa and the world. However, those hoping for serious exploration of African agency seeking alternative paradigms and loci of enunciation on African IR must wait a little longer.

The promise of Equality Courts

Abstract The right to equality in s 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 has become one of the cornerstones of South African constitutional jurisprudence. For this reason, the Equality Courts created by the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 have a vital role to play in the postapartheid legal landscape. These courts show great promise, but to date have not played the pivotal role that they should in developing a more just society, despite the presence of some new and innovative ways of resolving equality disputes. The promise thus remains unfulfilled, whilst, at the very same time, these courts continue to offer us hope for a future empty of discrimination and intolerance. This future may be utopian, but that is the nature of justice as we strive to find limits to the violence of law and search for ethical answers to difficult questions.