I am now into my third week of working with the FW De Klerk Foundation here in Cape Town, South Africa. Everyone at the office is incredibly warm and kind, and I have the utmost respect for what the Foundation is trying to do: support the Constitution and its foundation for a new South Africa, and support peace in multicultural societies. The Foundation accomplishes its mission in various ways such as monitoring socio-political developments that go against constitutional values (i.e. serve as a kind of government watchdog), publishing reports and papers opposing anything that is unconstitutional, helping people to understand and claim their rights through pro-bono legal assistance, etc.
The project I am currently focusing on is trying to understand the discrepancy between the rights of women as laid out in the Constitution and as seen through the near equal representation of women and men in Parliament, versus how women are actually treated "on the ground." While South Africa boasts equal rights, protection, freedoms, and representation for women in their laws and policies, it also has some of the highest rates of rape and other forms of violence against women in the world. My job is to better understand why this discrepancy exists, and to provide suggestions on how to improve the situation for women. There has been a plethora of research and papers written regarding this topic, so part of my challenge is to find the gaps and to add to, expand upon, challenge, or provide a different perspective on what already exists.
I have used the past couple of weeks to familiarize myself with the South Africa's history, people groups, cultures, and current events to get a sort of foothold for my project. I visit the National Library and my local library often to do research, and last week attended a briefing at Parliament by the Commission for Gender Equality regarding their strategic plans and budget. The briefing helped to get a better sense of how the government is addressing gender issues, and I was able to connect with a couple of committee members who I will hopefully be able to arrange meetings with.
Below are links to a couple of articles regarding violence against women and/or gender/sexuality issues in South Africa/Africa.
Article in today's NYT re: African women's soccer & homophobia:
Recent incidence of gender-based violence in a Cape Town township:
Article on corrective rape in South Africa:
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