Numbers vs. Interests: Women's Political Representation in the South African Communal Land Rights Act

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2010
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
CPGC: 2009 Summer Intern
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Award
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Throughout the past fifteen years, improving women's political participation and representation has been a global trend. Increasingly, the international community is viewing women's political representation as a measure of modernity and democratic legitimacy. This paper evaluates this trend, based on the question: Does women's increased political representation ensure that women's interests are represented in government? I differentiate between descriptive and substantive political representation to better highlight the question. Descriptive representation is simply numerical or demographic representation; are there women in government? Substantive representation is more complex; do women in government strategically pursue policies that improve the quality of life for women? Using the distinction between descriptive and substantive representation, this paper addresses the question: Does descriptive representation guarantee substantive representation? Based on a case study of women's political representation in South Africa, and specifically the Communal Land Rights Act, I argue that women's descriptive representation needs to be balanced by a strong women's movement in order to secure women's substantive representation.
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