Women's Organizations and Democracy in South Africa: Contesting Authority

Appendix A

This is the second draft charter drawn up through the Women’s National Coalition structures and approved at the national conference on February 27, 1994. Preamble As women, citizens of South Africa, we are here to claim our rights. We want recognition and respect for the work we do in the home, in the workplace and in the community. We claim full and equal participation in the creation of a non-sexist, non-racist democratic society. We cannot march on one leg or clap with one hand. South Africa is poorer politically, economically, and socially for having prevented more than half of its people from fully contributing to its development. Recognising our shared oppression, women are committed to seizing this historic moment to ensure effective equality in a new South Africa. 269 Appendix A The Women’s Charter for Effective Equality For decades, patriarchy, colonialism, racism and apartheid have subordinated and oppressed women within political, economic and social life. At the heart of women’s marginalisation is the patriarchal order that confines women to the domestic arena and reserves for men the arena where political power and authority reside. Conventionally, democracy and human rights have been defined and interpreted in terms of men s experiences . Society has been organised and its institutions structured for the primary benefit of men. Women want to control their lives. We bear important responsibilities but lack the authority to make decisions in the home and in society. We want shared responsibility and decision-making in the home and effective equality in politics, the law, and in the economy. For too long women have been marginalised, ignored, exploited and are the poorest and most disadvantaged of South Africans. If democracy and human rights are to be meaningful for women, they must address our historic subordination and oppression. Women must participate in, and shape the nature and form of our democracy. As women we have come together in a coalition of organisations and engaged in a campaign that has enabled women to draw on their experience and define what changes are needed within the new political, legal, economic and social system. The development of the potential of all our people, women and men, will enrich and benefit the whole of society. We set out here a programme for equality in all spheres of our lives, including the law, the economy, education, development and infrastructure, political and civic life, family life and partnerships, custom, culture and religion , health and the media. Article 1: Equality Equality underlies all our claims in this Charter. We recognise that the achievement of social, economic, political and legal equality is indivisible. Our struggle for equality involves the recognition of the disadvantage that women suffer in all spheres of our lives. As a result similar treatment of women and men may not result in true equality. Therefore the promotion of true equality will sometimes require distinctions to be made. No distinction , however, should be made that will disadvantage women. Within this context programmes of affirmative action may be a means of achieving equality. We demand that equality applies to every aspect of our lives, including 270 Appendix A the family, the workplace and the state. The right to equality shall not be limited to our relationship with the state. • The principle of equality shall be embodied at all levels in legislation and government policy. Specific legislation shall be introduced to ensure the practical realisation of equality. • The state shall establish appropriate institutions to ensure the effective protection and promotion of equality for women. These institutions shall be accessible to all women in south Africa. Article 2: Law and the Administration of Justice Women demand equality in the development, application, adjudication, interpretation and enforcement of the law. This can only be achieved if the social, economic and political position of women is taken into account in deciding policy, determining legislative priorities, and in formulating, applying , interpreting, adjudicating and enforcing all laws. • At all times the law, and its application, interpretation, adjudication and enforcement , shall promote and ensure the practical realisation of equality for women. • There shall be equality in the treatment of women in all legal and quasi-legal proceedings. • Women shall have equal legal status and capacity in civil law, including, amongst others, full contractual rights, the right to acquire and hold rights in property, the right to equal inheritance and the right to secure...