This chapter examines what democratic transition in the 1990s has meant for women in southern Africa. It focuses in particular on the impact of democratization processes on political participation... Show moreThis chapter examines what democratic transition in the 1990s has meant for women in southern Africa. It focuses in particular on the impact of democratization processes on political participation by women, notably women's representation in parliament in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is compared with developments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, where the introduction of multiparty elections has generally resulted in women's marginalization in parliament. Comparison of the representation of women in parliament in the SADC region under the one-party State and after the democratic transition reveals that the tendency is towards better representation of women. Factors impacting on the representation of women in politics include a country's state of development, the quota system, women's pressure groups, and electoral systems. Linking the UNDP's gender-related development index (1998) to the representation in parliament-index, the author concludes that there is no visible relationship between women's representation in parliament and the quality of life for women in southern Africa. Notes, ref Show less
Introduction to a volume of papers delivered during the 1977 conference of the Afrika-Studiecentrum in Leiden with the theme of 'Migration and rural development in Tropical Africa'. The... Show moreIntroduction to a volume of papers delivered during the 1977 conference of the Afrika-Studiecentrum in Leiden with the theme of 'Migration and rural development in Tropical Africa'. The geographical coverage of this volume includes West- and Southern Africa, bu does not extend to East or Central Africa. Th papers discuss the main problems of migration in Tropical Africa, namely: 1. The definition of migration, 2. Description of migration streams, 3. Forces behind migration; structure versus individual motivation. 4. The nature of the sectors between which migration takes place, 5. The historical processes by which these different sectors have emerged. 6. The political and economic processes by which the differences between sectors are perpetuated, 7. The social processes by which the different sectors are connected, 8. Migration and rural development. The A's in part 3 end with the general problem that relates to the subjective appreciation of contemporary African conditions, among researchers. Show less
