October 22, 2002
By Sheree Russouw
FOR most of her 69 years, Joyce Piliso-Seroke has been fighting for women's rights. In 1976, her struggle landed her in a cold, isolated cell at the old Women's Gaol in Braamfontein, just north of Johannesburg.
Now the chairperson of the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), a constitutional body set up to advance women's rights in South Africa, plans to take her fight to one of the country's echelons of power: local government.
"I'm worried about the status of women in local government. Why are there so few women in Johannesburg's City Council?" asks Piliso-Seroke. "There are far more women occupying high-ranking positions in cabinet and in the national assembly, but women are not chosen to serve in local councils.
"We must challenge discrimination in governance and see where the power of decision-making lies. We have to see if the government's policies are gender-sensitive or not. Women are not empowered to occupy positions of power and we have to find out if it is because they feel inferior."
Of the 217 councillors in the City, 71 are women. The 12-member mayoral committee of the African National Congress (ANC) lists two women as members. And according to the City's human resource department, 3 528 female officials and staffers serve on the City's various utilities and regions.
While South Africa is ranked number eight in the world in terms of gender equality in government, politics are still male-dominated, says Rehana Moosajee, an ANC councillor. "It will take some time to address gender imbalances, and I think that women in politics is another dimension to the struggle. Women are often put on the back foot, but it is so imperative that women are represented in government structures, especially once you consider that nearly 50 percent of the population consists of women." The ANC has 45 women councillors and 81 men.
Communities often do not perceive women as leaders, and so do not cast their votes for female political candidates, she says. "A lot of our efforts need to be concentrated at a community level. The majority of ward councillors are men, and have been voted into government by the community. But the bulk of female councillors tend to get into government through the proportional representation system.
"This says a lot about how communities view women. Yet it is women who are often in the best place to reach their communities. When there is no water, it is the woman of the house who will trek kilometres to fetch water. When there is no electricity, the woman of the house will still find a way to put a meal on the table for her family."
But inroads are slowly being made. Political parties are beginning to draw up quota systems to entrench the position of women in government. "The City is beginning to look at the budget in gender-sensitive ways by asking: how will this budget affect the lives of women in communities," says Moosajee.
The Municipal Structures Act encourages political parties to ensure that 50 percent of their lists are made up of women and that party lists have a fair balance of men and women. According to Women'sNet, an online project to advance women's rights worldwide, the proportional representation system "is more conducive to facilitate women's access to political office".
It says that some political parties do actively support and promote women in political leadership positions, but the ward system is more cumbersome for women to gain entry into. "It is more difficult for women to contest elections in their individual capacity, especially if their opponent is a male candidate. In these instances, women tend to be considered as an 'electoral liability', in light of the risk of losing out to a male opponent."
Rudy du Plooy was formerly the lone (male) member of the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) in the City. But the recent floor-crossing spectacle has meant the CDP has won over two female members. "The CDP has no quota systems of any description. Look, I'm not going to break my garter strings about the issue of having women in government. I believe women should be in local government, and it should be well balanced, but it should be a matter of character.
"The quality of the person and their service to the community comes first. It should be a natural process, and we should encourage it. Women do offer a different approach to government. They have a built-in radar system. Still, men are from Mars, and women are from Venus," he laughs.
Whether or not women are from a different planet, Tandisiwe Mphiwa, the chief whip of the Azanian People's Organisation, insists that female politicians are far more in tune with local communities than men are. "I have seen that women can deliver. They have the capability to deliver and local government is one area where delivery is very important. Men tend to philosophise too much about democracy, but women are more practical. They truly show you what democracy is," he says.
Nhlanhla Dhlomo, the chief whip of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), is the only female councillor for the IFP in the City. She says that the position of women needs to be strengthened at all levels of government. "Women are powerful; we understand the bread and butter issues like poverty and self-reliance. We are mothers, we are women, and we are politicians. We know what's wrong is wrong and what's right is right."
Of the 59 councillors in the Democratic Alliance (DA), 26 are women. "Having women in local government brings a completely different perspective to government. In the so-called 'soft services' like health and social services, women fulfil an essential role. They have a good blend of quality and talents," says Gail Daus, the chief whip.
The DA has a "total equality programme", and all councillors have equal decision-making powers, says Daus. "We believe in merit. The system works and there is a good balance of genders. I think that local government is particularly suited to women. Imagine if you're a parliamentarian and you have to run two homes – one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg. I think that can be disruptive in a job that is already very disruptive to family life."
The United Democratic Movement is trying to address gender equality in its ranks, says chief whip Mochichi Mogodi. "These [women] are human beings and we also have to consider them. Women know how to get in touch with others at the grassroots level. They are the ones who manage their families and societies. They know exactly how the community has suffered, and they must be brought to a local level."
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) is run by "old men" in the City, according to councillor Sipho Mahlobo. "It's the same kind of terrible situation where only old men are in our party. I think it's also because the PAC did not win any ward in 2000, and we got in through the system of proportional representation. We tried to get more women in during elections and did have a lot of young female candidates but not many people voted for them. Once again, we ended up with men."
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