Women's organizations and democracy in South Africa : contesting authority /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Hassim, Shireen.
Imprint:Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, c2006.
Description:xiv, 355 pages ; 23 cm.
Language:English
Series:Women in Africa and the diaspora / series editors, Stanlie James, Aili Mari Tripp
Women in Africa and the diaspora.
ACLS Humanities E-Book.
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/10515584
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other authors / contributors:American Council of Learned Societies.
ISBN:0299213803
0299213846
9780299213800
9780299213848
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-339) and index.
Electronic text and image data. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan, Michigan Publishing, 2009. Includes both TIFF files and keyword searchable text. ([ACLS Humanities E-Book]) Mode of access: Intranet.
Description
Summary:


The transition to democracy in South Africa was one of the defining events in twentieth-century political history. The South African women's movement is one of the most celebrated on the African continent. Shireen Hassim examines interactions between the two as she explores the gendered nature of liberation and regime change. Her work reveals how women's political organizations both shaped and were shaped by the broader democratic movement. Alternately asserting their political independence and giving precedence to the democratic movement as a whole, women activists proved flexible and remarkably successful in influencing policy. At the same time, their feminism was profoundly shaped by the context of democratic and nationalist ideologies. In reading the last twenty-five years of South African history through a feminist framework, Hassim offers fresh insights into the interactions between civil society, political parties, and the state.

Hassim boldly confronts sensitive issues such as the tensions between autonomy and political dependency in feminists' engagement with the African National Congress (ANC) and other democratic movements, and black-white relations within women's organizations. She offers a historically informed discussion of the challenges facing feminist activists during a time of nationalist struggle and democratization.


Winner, Victoria Schuck Award for best book on women and politics, American Political Science Association


"An exceptional study, based on extensive research. . . . Highly recommended."-- Choice

"A rich history of women's organizations in South African . . . . [Hassim] had observed at first hand, and often participated in, much of what she described. She had access to the informants and private archives that so enliven the narrative and enrich the analysis. She provides a finely balanced assessment."--Gretchen Bauer, African Studies Review

Physical Description:xiv, 355 pages ; 23 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-339) and index.
ISBN:0299213803
0299213846
9780299213800
9780299213848