‘A Bit on the Side’? Gender Struggles in the Politics of Transformation in South Africa

After a short explanation of the polarization in the debate around women’s oppression in South Africa, the authors suggest that there is a middle ground between these polarized positions, a ground on which gendered struggles are being fought. They argue that gender struggles are important in determining the nature and implementation of policy. In arguing for a middle ground they assert the importance of feminism and particularly socialist feminism as a political discourse and practice which has the potential to rescue women’s struggles from being ‘a bit on the side’ to making them struggles which can substantively alter the nature of national and class struggles and so transform gender relations. Bibliogr., notes.