Public Dialogue: New Laws, New Oppressions? The potential for negative impacts on rural women of recent legislation on traditional authorities, land rights and traditional courts

From the PLAAS website -  Recent laws or proposed laws in relation to customary law in South Africa fail to adequately address the rights of women. They have the potential to re-inscribe rather than transform oppressive gender relations, and thus flout the gender equity requirements of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act of 2003, the Communal Land Rights Act of 2004, and the Traditional Courts Bill of 2008 all assume that ‘traditional communities’ coincide with groups under the authority of the old Tribal Authorities, now called traditional councils. They are effectively controlled by chiefs and older men. Opportunities for women to make their voices heard are highly circumscribed.

The general public is not well informed on these issues, and debate on gender equality in rural areas has been muted to date. It is urgently needed to ensure that the Traditional Courts Bill is appropriately amended before it becomes law. You are invited to a public dialogue on these important issues.

PROGRAMME:  Chair: Dr Sisa Ngabasa, Women’s and Gender Studies, UWC. 1. New laws and their impacts on rural women: Ms Aninka Claassens (Law, Race and Gender Unit (LRGU), UCT) 2. Traditional authority and women’s land rights in Namaqualand and KwaZulu-Natal: Ms Karin Kleinbooi and Prof Ben Cousins (Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), UWC) 3. The politics of ‘customary law’: TO BE CONFIRMED

You can find more information on the website of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and on facebook.

This public dialogue is co-hosted by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), Women and Gender Studies at UWC, and the Law, Race and Gender Unit of UCT.