1. 1
Social Justice and Human Rights Assignment 1
LAWS 4058
Name:
Charné Tracey
Student Number:
684540
Topic:
“Women’s Rights are Human Rights”

2. 2
Introduction
In 1996, South Africa’s final Constitution came into being, with the purpose of
eradicating the discriminatory legislation of apartheid.1 With it, came the Bill of Rights
which, for the first time, recognized and acknowledged that all people of South Africa,
including women, were equal and no one would be regarded as a so-called second-
class citizen any longer. This essay intends to explore the early understanding of
human rights as a tightly bound notion from which women were incapable of
benefitting. It will delve into the perspectives of various authors to establish why human
rights were not seen as inclusive of women, as well as how these rights have been
reformed and extended. An understanding of historic legal limitations that women were
to endure is pertinent to appreciating the law as it stands today. This essay will draw
upon feminist movements to gain perspective as to the global subordination of women,
as well as the intense need for reform. This will be done firstly by examining the
relevance of the statement made by Hilary Clinton, historically and in today’s society:
“Women’s rights are human rights”. It will then look at the history of oppression against
women. The last section of this essay will explore how the South African Constitution
has incorporated women’s rights as human rights. This essay will ultimately explore
this single sphere of systematic oppression in relation to women, and the remnants of
it in today’s society.
“Women’s Rights are Human Rights”
For years, women’s rights were seen as inferior against those of the dominant male
group. As a social group, women were undervalued and the little contribution that they
were expected to make in society was wholly unappreciated. “Women’s rights are
human rights” was a statement made in 1995 by Hilary Clinton at the United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.2 Clinton identifies those injustices that
were imposed on women which all tend to stem from a violent root. She describes a
position suggesting that women were to live in conditions where a constant threat of
imminent danger existed.3 Man is superior, dominant, and aggressive. Against this
backdrop then, woman is inferior and weak. De Beauvoir summarizes this position
1 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
2 Hilary Clinton ‘Women’s' rights are human rights’ Vital Speeches of the Day 5 September 1995 at
738.
3 Ibid.

3. 3
elegantly: “Because man is sovereign in this world, he claims the violence of his
desires as a sign of his sovereignty”.4 This statement concisely darkens that dividing
line between the powerful, strong man and the weak, helpless woman. This point of
view is a clear illustration of how a woman’s right against protection from danger or
harm was not a point of concern. It also highlights where exactly the lines of equality
are drawn: man and man are equal; woman and man are not.
Clinton identifies what is perhaps the most prevalent boundary preventing women from
fully benefitting from a wholesome livelihood: limited autonomy.5 Woman’s identity was
dependent on the presence of man. In this regard, De Beauvoir makes the interesting
statement that the institution of marriage is the sole path offered to women by society,
and it is by virtue of marriage that a woman will be defined.6 With this fact alone in
mind, one may already begin to imagine a nexus between the inferior woman and the
power of man. Perhaps another aspect of woman’s limited autonomy was the simple
and sole role, as expected by society, to reproduce. Again, De Beauvoir makes the
arresting statement that woman has a predestined physiological purpose, and it is
through motherhood that it will be fulfilled.7 Drawing from this perspective, it is clear
that woman is to the extent that man requires her. From this, one may start to imagine
the harsh social injustice that woman was to endure: woman essentially had no rights
to her body, and had no part in making decisions related to it.
And so, traditional gender roles formed. Hakim illustrates these lines of differentiation,
identifying the role of woman, the role of wife, as maintaining the home, and man as
the income-earner and the rights-bearer.8 Again, De Beauvoir makes the powerful
point that without man, woman runs the economic risk of inevitable failure.9 Woman
essentially had no right to be present in the workplace.
Of course, there do exists those groups who are not of the view that the traditional
gender roles are entirely damaging. Buechler elaborates on these so-called
antifeminists who support the approach that these roles should be maintained. It is
based on a central notion of gender appropriateness and is justified through the
4 Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex (2014) 455.
5 Supra note 2.
6 Supra note 4 at p 502.
7 Supra note 4 at p 597.
8 Catherine Hakim ‘The Sexual Division of Labour and Women's Heterogeneity’ (1996) 47 The British
Journal of Sociology at 180.
9 Supra note 4 at p 30.

4. 4
analysis of the stark differences, biological and otherwise, between man and woman.10
The ultimate argument is that to achieve “true womanhood”, the traditional gender
roles must be observed and maintained.11
Mass Female Hysteria
Globally, women began to make use of human rights to pose the stark injustices that
were imposed on them. Friedman offers examples from, firstly, Latin America where
women made efforts to assert their position, not as women, but on behalf of
humanity.12 This was done in response to the sudden and suspicious vanishing of their
children during Argentina’s “dirty war”. This depicted the end of woman’s perpetual
and obedient silence. Secondly, Friedman speaks on women in Pakistan who again
used human rights to frame women’s rights.13 In this context, staunch religious
practices come into play. By virtue of this fact alone, one may imagine the extent to
which women had grown tired of remaining quiet and compliant.
Perhaps one of the most iconic demonstrations in South Africa was the woman’s
march of 1956, where thousands of women organized to show their collective rejection
to carrying passes. The government at that time had declared the Western Cape a so-
called "coloured preference area". This meant that members of any other racial group
in the country were prohibited from working or residing in the area. It was for this
reason, to identify those who allegedly did not belong, that the carrying of permits was
introduced. It was not long after these permits were issued that the rest of the country
began to follow suit. It then became procedure that women who were unable to present
these permits when required to do so would be arrested.14
It is clear then that women, across the world, grew more empowered and more aware
of their inferiority and began to view their compliance and obedience more as
oppression than procedure. A need for the recognition of women’s rights emanated
from the deeply imprinted inequality that man, for years, worked hard to entrench.
Contributions from the Constitution
10 Steven Buechler Women’s Movements in the United States (1990) 188.
11 Ibid.
12 E Friedman ‘Women’s human rights: The emergence of a movement’ in Julie Peters et al (eds)
Women’s rights, human rights: International feminist perspectives (1995) 22.
13 Ibid.
14 N Gasa Women in South African History: They Remove Boulders and Cross Rivers (2007).

5. 5
Since the fall of apartheid, a countless pieces of legislation have been enacted and
judgments handed down in the interests of advancing women’s rights and ultimately
promoting an air of equality in the country. One of the most obvious attempts to
achieve this goal is perhaps the careful use of wording in phrasing rights: “every
person has the right to…”.
There is no longer justification for violence towards women in that the Constitution
promises freedom and security from “all forms of violence”.15 The Domestic Violence
Act furthers this goal through acknowledging violence in the home as a serious offence
and not as a private matter, which was once the accepted norm.16 Under the same
section, and even more relevant to women’s rights, every person is given full control
over their own body, which expressly includes decisions relating to reproduction.17
Women are now also free to enter into the workplace and will be protected, and the
Constitution promises every citizen the freedom to participate in the profession of their
choice.18
Ultimately, it may be argued that the section 9, the equality clause which declares all
people equal, is the most prolific section in the Bill of Rights because it is in stark
contrast with any given piece of apartheid legislation. In this regard, the Prevention of
Discrimination and Promotion of Equality Act goes to enforcing the equal interests of
all people.19
Conclusion
Although it is true that the stigma of being a woman remains, there are now legislative
measures that have been taken to advance the interests of the once oppressed and
disadvantaged groups. Through recognition of the existence of the gender roles that
remain, and especially those which tend to be problematic, women now, at the very
least, have at their disposal the option of legal relief.
1533 words
15 Supra note 1 at Section 12(1)(c).
16 Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998.
17 Supra note 1 at Section 12(2).
18 Supra note 1 at Section 22.
19 Prevention of Discrimination and Promotion of Equality Act 4 of 2000.

6. 6
Bibliography
Legislation
1. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
2. Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998.
3. Prevention of Discrimination and Promotion of Equality Act 4 of 2000.
Journal Articles
4. Catherine Hakim ‘The Sexual Division of Labour and Women's Heterogeneity’
(1996) 47 The British Journal of Sociology at 180.
Books
5. E Friedman ‘Women’s human rights: The emergence of a movement’ in Julie
Peters et al (eds) Women’s rights, human rights: International feminist
perspectives (1995).
6. N Gasa Women in South African History: They Remove Boulders and Cross
Rivers (2007).
7. Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex (2014).
8. Steven Buechler Women’s Movements in the United States (1990).
Other
9. Hilary Clinton ‘Women’s' rights are human rights’ Vital Speeches of the Day 5
September 1995 at 738.