| dc.description.abstract | The main aim of the study was to compare the state of women's political
representation in the leadership structures of South Africa and Cameroon after
almost two decades of multi-party politics in these two African states. The
objectives were: to examine the structures and mechanisms that have been put
in place in both countries to promote and advance gender equality and women's
empowerment; to find out the obstacles which inhibit women's political
representation or their advancement; and to explore whether improved women's
representation could change Africa's political culture. The study has been
conceptualized within the theories of leadership, liberal feminism, patriarchy and
social dominance.
The unit of analysis was women in leadership structures of parliament, political
parties and government. The study used a qualitative research approach, and
designs used were comparative case-study, phenomenology and historical
designs. A stratified purposive sampling approach was used in the selection of
120 participants from political parties, NGOs and academia. There were 75
participants in South Africa and 45 in Cameroon, inclusive of males and females.
A collective case or triangulation method of data collection was also utilized
which consisted of interviews, a focus group discussion, an open-ended
questionnaire, observation and secondary data.
The study found that comparatively, there were many more women represented
in political leadership in South Africa than in Cameroon. In addition, many
structures and mechanisms have been put in place in South Africa to cater for
gender equality and women's empowerment. However, even with a high number
of women at the helm of government, this has not made the South African
society less patriarchal. Indeed, women in both countries still face many
obstacles in their quest for advancement in the political arena.
Ultimately, the study found that, evidence from South Africa, Rwanda and Liberia
showed that increased women's representation in political leadership positions
could obviously change Africa's political culture. Indicators raised were that,
women in politics would be involved in development and peace issues, gender-sensitive
policies, women's empowerment and there would be participatory
democracy.
The study recommends among other things that, though gender equity is
commendable, women's voices and grassroots opinions of both women and men
should guide processes of putting women in leadership positions. Moreover,
gender equality and women's empowerment at the community level is still a
struggle. Hence the need for educational and consciousness-raising programmes
aimed at communities which still regard women as incompetent and unable to
contribute positively to their societies. | en_US |
