Sheila Meintjes

Dealing with the aftermath: sexual violence and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

BETH GOLDBLATT and SHEILA MEINTJES write that far from the apartheid legacy of political and sexual violence disappearing, reparation and reconstruction will need womens organisations and forums to take up the healing of the survivors

Gender equality by design: The case of South Africa's commission on gender equality

Abstract In this article I critically examine the constitutional and institutional engineering involved in promoting gender equality in South Africa through a careful study of the CGE. I trace its political history from its conception in the minds of gender activists at a particular moment in the transitional process, to the promulgation of its existence through the law, to its inception as an institution and its subsequent establishment and design and finally to its practice. My concern is whether ‘gender equality by design’ and the creation of an institution with a particular constitutional responsibility to promote and monitor gender equality in the state and in civil society, constitutes an appropriate strategy and, potentially, a global model for gender transformation.

DILEMMAS OF DIFFERENCE

What praxis for South Africa? Sheila Meintjes broaches the debate with Cathi Albertyn, Rohina Harillal, Ellen Kornegay and Nomsa Ngqakayi

The aftermath: women in post-war reconstruction

SHEILA MEINTJES argues that women have been fighters, peace-makers, mothers and victims during war, but in the period of peace and reconstruction, womens bodies remain a terrain of battle as conflict becomes privatised in the home. How is real transformation possible for women she asks?

Political violence and gender: a neglected relation in South Africa's struggle for democracy

Abstract This article argues that political violence in South Africa is strongly gendered, both in its form as well as in the ways in which it is experienced by men and women. Drawing on interviews and secondary sources, the article traces the changing nature of political violence during the periods of armed struggle and the transition to democracy. The author shows the integral relationship between ideologies of gender and power, and stresses the continuities between the public and private realms of society. It is argued that political violence is not separate from domestic forms of violence, but is a further aspect of patriarchal power relations. The article further examines the attempts of womens organisations to mobilise politically against violence against women, and contends that a strong social movement of women will make a decisive difference in this struggle.

Gendering Processes of Institutional Design: Activists at the Negotiating Table

The creation of new institutions can open up opportunities to bring about political change sought by marginalized groups. Feminists may want to seize windows of opportunity to advance a gender justice and equality agenda alongside other reforms. However, the negotiation processes through which new institutions are designed are often male-dominated and lack female and feminist voices. Even when included, women seeking to develop an agenda for transformation may be co-opted or muted by the embedded masculinity and institutional complexity of the sites in which they find themselves. These concerns were raised at a roundtable titled “Gendering Institutional Design Process and Negotiations” that was organized as part of the Gendering New Institutions Workshop held at the University of Manchester on 7–8 November 2013. We asked gender advocates involved in the negotiation processes surrounding the design of three new institutions during the 1990s to reflect upon their experiences. The panel was joined by members of the audience, some of whom had negotiation experiences. The conversation presented here is an edited version of this roundtable discussion. All the panel members are academics who were involved as civil society representatives in formal processes of institutional change, all of which are often seen as success stories of feminist intervention. Sheila Meintjes spoke about her experiences as a member of the Women’s National Coalition involved in the drafting of a new Constitution for post-apartheid South Africa. Following decades of anti-apartheid struggle, formal multi-party negotiations from 1990 onwards resulted in an interim Constitution in 1993, South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994 and the subsequent drafting of a final Constitution by 1996. Alice Brown discussed the design of the new Scottish Parliament accompanying the devolution of powers from Westminster to