Some Kind of Woman? Gender Politics, Twenty Years Later
WiSER invites you to a panel discussion on
Some Kind of Woman? Gender Politics, Twenty Years Later
Since 1994, the South African government has made a conscious attempt to alter both the composition and form of the democratic state in terms of gender. This has been a striking departure from the past, with South Africa’s National Gender Machinery representing the country’s attempt to construct a state gendered in particular ways. South African women are diverse however, and both heir to and makers of a range of citizenships. What kind of ‘woman’ does the state then imagine and invoke through these various structural interventions? Who is the ‘woman’ in the state? On the cusp of 20 years of democracy, and in a time declared as Woman’s Month, this panel will blend reflexive accounts by both women within the state and those outside of it, on the effects of institutionalizing gender equality.
Speakers include:
Lisa Vetten, WiSER research associate on the history of the NGM
Joy Watson, senior researcher in Parliament, reflecting on Parliament's interventions and structures
Fundi Nzimande, Commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality
Susan Nkomo, former CEO of the Office on the Status of Women in the Presidency (2002 - 2007)
Shireen Hassim, (Political Studies, Wits) will introduce and chair the event.