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

This analysis by Hassim (Univ. of Witwatersrand, South Africa) of the role of women in South Africa's democratization process is a study of their evolution through several political cycles, eventually achieving status as independent centers of power unparalleled elsewhere in Africa. As participants in the liberation process, women's roles were shaped initially as subordinate instruments of national mobilization. After liberation, their feminist politics put them in an autonomous position as they searched to correct gender inequalities, deal with racial issues, and cope with class oppression. Their roles as participants in the political process during the postapartheid era are wide ranging. South African women now serve as elected members of parliament and as heads of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) coping with units in the civil society at grassroots as well as national levels. They are responding to major issues such as AIDS, violence against women, and access to basic services for poor women. The policy outcomes vary from successes to uncertainties, and while the outcomes remain unpredictable, it is clear that the role of women in South Africa remains prominent and productive. This is an exceptional study, based on extensive research. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. M. E. Doro emerita, Connecticut College