Investigating women's participation in protest politics between 1991 and 2001

Date
2003-12
Authors
Wildschut, Angelique Colleen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The involvement of women in both conventional and unconventional forms of political participation in South Africa has over the past 10 years, and often at present, been experienced as problematic and limited. Exacerbating the problem of limited access and information, the study of, and literature about, women's participation in unconventional forms of politics have also been limited. It is the aim of this study to contribute to our knowledge in this area. This study investigates women's participation in unconventional politics between 1991 and 2001. This period is specifically important, as it makes possible the examination of trends in women's political participation before and after the democratic transition in 1994. This makes it possible for us to speculate about the influence of transition on women's political participation. I propose and evaluate two mam hypotheses in which I; firstly, expect women's participation in protest politics to decrease between 1991 and 2001, and secondly, expect to find women's levels of participation in protest to be consistently lower than that of their male counterparts. The complex set of variables influencing women's participation is evaluated according to the socialization and structural approaches, which offer different assumptions about the reasons for the trends in women's participation. In conclusion, I offer the main findings of my research, as well as suggesting possible areas still to be investigated within the field, as deduced from the questions arising out of my analysis in this project.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die betrokkenheid van vroue in beide konvensionele en onkonvensionele vorme van politieke deelname in Suid Afrika, was oor die laaste 10 jaar, en is steeds ervaar as problematies en beperk. Wat die probleem vererger, is die beperkte toegang tot informasie, die studie van, en literatuur oor, vroue se deelname in onkonvensionele vorme van politiek. Dit is in die strewe na die oorkoming van hierdie leemtes, dat hierdie werk aangepak word. Hierdie werk ondersoek vroue se deelname in onkonvensionele politiek tussen 1991 en 2001. Hierdie periode is spesifiek belangrik, omdat dit die demokratiese transisie na 1994 insluit, en om neigings in vroulike deelname voor en na 1994 te bestudeer. Dit maak dit moontlik om oor die invloed van die transisie op vroue se politieke deelname te spekuleer. Ek stel, en evalueer twee hoof hipoteses waarin ek; eerstens, verwag dat vroue se deelname in protes politiek sal verminder tussen 1991 en 2001, en tweedens, verwag ek om te vind dat vroue se vlakke van deelname in protes, deurentyd laer sal wees as die van mans. Die komplekse stel veranderlikes wat vroue se deelname beinvloed, word geevalueer in terme van die sosialisering- en strukturele benaderings, wat verskillende voorstelle oor die motivering van die geobserveerde neigings in vroue se deelname oplewer. Ten slotte, bied ek die hoof bevindinge van my navorsing aan, so wel as voorstelle ten opsigte van moontlike areas vir verder ondersoek binne die veld.
Description
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
Keywords
Protest movements -- South Africa -- Citizen participation, Women -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Citizen participation, South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1989-1994, Dissertations -- Political science, Theses -- Political science
Citation