By Pemy Gasela

South Africa has made significant gains in the representation of women in national and provincial government since the advent of democracy in 1994. The 2000 local elections saw fairly strong women’s representation due to a quota system that was used by some of the mainstream parties. Since then, however, gender balance has declined at local government level. In the Eastern Cape for example, there are 389 (32,44%) female councillors out of a total of 1199 councillors. At senior staff level the number of female municipal managers is low, only two (2, 22%) out of a total of 45 municipal managers.

Apart from the principle of gender equality, South African women have earned their place in government because of their role in the struggle against apartheid. The 1956 Women’s March against the dompas system for example, demonstrated the resolve of women in opposing an apartheid regime that had immense capacity for oppression and state violence. Women have also played a pivotal role in community-based politics, and were a crucial part of the creation of an urban civics movement in the late 1970s. The "civics" campaign against high rentals and poor service brought apartheid local councils to their knees and ultimately contributed to the demise of the apartheid state itself.

It is widely accepted that for South Africa to attain economic and social stability, and growth, it is vital that women’s participation in local government keeps pace with the growth of a broader democratic and non-sexist culture. Despite constitutional protection and gender sensitive policy, women continue to be effectively marginalised from decision-making and their work is often unrewarded and devalued.

A number of legal and policy instruments purport to advance the equal representation of women at the local level. Firstly, international and regional treaties and conventions require Southern African Development Community (SADC) states to achieve gender equality and representation at all level of government and decision-making bodies. These include the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Declaration on Gender and Development ratified by SADC in 1977. The latter commits all member states to ensuring “the equal representation of women and men in the decision making of member states and SADC structures at all levels, and the achievement of at least a 30% target of women in political and decision-making structures.”

Since South Africa’s transition to a liberal democracy, its government’s efforts to advance gender equality have been held up as a beacon of good practice across the world. However, the reality of women’s experience in South Africa, especially at local government level, have been much more complex and casts doubt on the country’s celebrated gender achievements.

Local government is considered the sphere of government closest to the people. Local politics have impacted directly on the lives of women, as they carry disproportionate responsibility for social reproduction and the goods and services provided by local government have a direct bearing on their lives. If basic services such as water or electricity are absent, it is often women and children that feel the daily burden. Women, cast as caregivers and guardians of household nutrition and health, are the main users of basic municipal services. Their input into municipal decision-making and policy is therefore critical. Local government is obligated to ensure the full participation of women in various municipal structures from ward committees to the mayoral committee. This imperative requires the municipality to confront attitudes of patriarchy in both the public and private spheres – an exercise fraught with political risk. One assumption is that more women in local government will necessarily lead to a stronger voice for gender equality. To date evidence of this is uncertain as women are often politicians before they are gender activists.

Gender activists have argued that women’s participation in local government is likely to lead to more efficient and effective delivery of services, which will have a positive impact on the democratic system as a whole. Women’s understanding of the needs of households can be translated into knowledge for local planners and delivery agencies, leading to a virtuous circle of gender-sensitive policies and increased and better valued participation of women. While this plays into gender stereotyping it may be a useful strategy for demonstrating that gender equality is an end in itself but also a means to generally improved local governance.

The Local Government Transformer, April/May 2007