Gender Equality Provisions and Women’s Rights in Botswana and South Africa

• In Event: Gender, Sexuality, and Constitutional Equality

Abstract

Gender equality provisions have become nearly standard in constitutional design for new democracies. A growing area of research, both quantitative and qualitative, examines whether constitutional provisions matter for social change and under what conditions. However, few studies consider gender provisions and how they are employed by women’s rights advocates. Do gender equality provisions matter? How do such provisions affect the ability of women’s rights advocates to achieve social change? To address this question, we compare the political use (legislation, policy, and judicial interpretation) of these provisions in Botswana and South Africa, countries that differ with respect to how they have constitutionalized gender rights. The analysis draws on interviews with scholars, policymakers and activists, as well as legislation and high court decisions in key policy areas (violence against women, workplace equality, and customary law) between 1990 and 2020. The comparative analysis demonstrates how gender-specific constitutional provisions provide a legal basis and legitimacy for women’s rights advocates to advance new policy, protect policy gains, and pursue rights-based cases through the courts.

Authors

• Priscilla A. Lambert, Western Michigan University

• Druscilla L. Scribner, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh