Points of Unity -the Nature of Coalition among South African Women

Abstract: This paper suggests that pre-transiton mobilisation and collective bargaining creates post transiton success. It also examines how the fragility of a gender identity often results in fragmentation of crosscutting women's organisations once democracy is established, resulting in poorer cooperation between women and effectively poorer struggle for gender equality. It is a case study that takes us through the history of South African women's organisations, up till today. Evidently, different groups of South African women, divided by class, ethnicity and party belonging were subject to different forms of discrimination under apartheid rule. Nevertheless, they managed to form a united front under the parole of ?womanness?, resulting in collective bargaining and participation in the negotiation process, leading up to a more gender sensitive constitution and greater participation in government. Thereby, through a time limited point of unity, women managed to reform gender insensitive institutions. However, as South Africa started to democratise the unity experienced prior to the transition to democracy weakened and women again began to organise around their original identies, based on class and ethnicity and also party membership, and no more points of unity have since occurred. In conclusion, this thesis focuses on the strength of collective bargaining in civil society under authoritarian rule and the weakness non-collective bargaining in a democratic society, and tries to find various reasons for fragmentation.