Women's Representation on the Courts in the Republic of South Africa

Abstract

The new South African Democracy (the New Democracy), which established following the fall of the apartheid regime, made an unequivocal commitment to gender equality and women's rights, thanks, in part, to the efforts and advocacy of South African women.The fulfillment of this commitment required a transformation of government and society that would reach and penetrate every institution of the New Democracy.The judiciary, though not exclusive in bearing this transformative obligation, was intended to be an important agent of change.The New Democracy, however, inherited a judiciary that had no legitimacya problem that required the complete transformation of the judiciary by race and gender.Unfortunately, the record on this score, more than a decade after the inauguration of the New Democracy, has been woeful.This paper explores the reasons why women are so underrepresented in the courts of South Africa, as well as possible solutions to the problem. I. GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTSIN THE NEW DEMOCRACY South Africa's first inclusive election, held in 1994, replaced the apartheid regime with a constitutional democracy based on social justice and fundamental human rights.These fundamental human rights, as expressed in the South African Constitution (the Constitution), included a prominent and unequivocal commitment to gender equality and women's rightsthey were to be, as Cathi Albertyn expressed it, "a moral touchstone" of the New Democracy.

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