ELITE PATRIARCHAL BARGAINING IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA AND POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: WOMEN POLITICAL ELITES AND POST- TRANSITION AFRICAN PARLIAMENTS LINDIWE D. MAKHUNGA Student Number: 0500185E Supervisor: Prof. Shireen Hassim Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Studies Graduate School for Humanities and Social Sciences University of the Witwatersrand AUGUST 2015 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis, titled Elite Patriarchal Bargains in Post-Genocide Rwanda and Post-Apartheid South Africa: Women Political Elites and Post-Transition African Parliaments, is my original research. It has never been submitted by anyone for the award of any other Degree or Diploma in any College or University. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. It is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Political Studies) in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any other degree or examination in any other university. ____________________________ ____________________________ Lindiwe D. Makhunga (Signature) Date (DD/MM/YYYY) Copyright © 2015 Lindiwe D. Makhunga All Rights Reserved DEDICATION Because a woman extends backwards through her mother and forwards through her daughter, this work is dedicated to my mother, Monica Harrison, who taught me to love God and never made me forget that I come from a long line of women who run with the wolves… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are far too many people that have made the completion of this PHD possible and if anyone is omitted, I guarantee that it was not intentional. I did not know it then but my PHD started when I landed in Rwanda in 2008 for the first time. It was my first time outside of South Africa and my other adopted childhood home of Swaziland in another African country, and would be the beginning of a deep relationship with the rest of the continent that would be particularly defined by Rwanda. Firstly, I would like to thank my ‘long-suffering’ supervisor Prof. Shireen Hassim for her patience, unyielding faith in my abilities and exceptional mentoring. I am truly indebted to her for her generous and nurturing intellectual support. It was an honour and privilege for me to be your supervisee. You are truly a ‘rock star’ and as I am always saying ‘I want to be like you when I grow up’. Secondly, the numerous people who literally carried me across the finish line of many PHD milestones, the most prominent among them my mentor, Prof. Zimitri Erasmus whose generosity of spirit and calmness of demeanour always strengthened my resolve to attain my degree. It has been extremely important for me to have fierce women of colour be my academic mentors and Professors Shireen Hassim and Zimitri Erasmus have been the shoulders that I have been privileged to stand on. I would like to thank my father Dr. Ndumiso Makhunga who instilled a love of books in me from an early age and the rest of my family. The Members of my Indispensable Sister Circle in South Africa (in no particular order) – Refilwe Nkomo, Boitumelo Matlala, Siphokazi Magadla, Yaliwe Clark, Kate Muwoki, Linda Olagunju, Philemona Apiko, Teresa Le, Basani Baloyi. My Anaconda Crew (Alexandra Fitzgerald Mia, Katlego Moilwa and Boipuso Modise). The Members of my Indispensable Sister Circle in Rwanda (in no particular order) – Rehema Sudi, Ilaria Buscalgia, Jeanine Gatabazi, Natalie Neema, Marie Chanoine. My South African Cheerleading Section: Dakom Damun, Christopher Ouma, Peace Kiguwa, Jill Bradbury, Malose Langa, Tali Nates, Sheila Meintjes, Nicky Viennings, Tawana Kupe and Ruksana Osman. In South Africa, all of my interview respondents who were extremely generous with their time and honesty. I would especially like to thank former and present women Members of Parliament from the National Assembly and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. In Rwanda, all of my interview respondents who were extremely generous with their time, honesty and did not hold my bad French and non-existent Kinyarwanda against me. I would especially like to thank former and present women parliamentarians from the Chamber of Deputies and the Parliament of the Republic of Rwanda. I would like to formally thank the Centre for Gender, Development and Culture at the National University of Rwanda for sponsoring my research affiliation and Dr. Jolly Rugabiza for her supervision and guidance. In Rwanda, Epimaque and his beautiful family, Prof. Getrude Fester, Rosette Rugamba, H.E. Vincent Karega, Immaculée Mugabo, Specioze from the FFRP Office and Ilaria Buscalgia, My unsung heroes: Gillian Renshaw of the Political Studies Department and my colleagues in the Department of Political Studies, Prof. Daryl Glaser, Dr. Lwazi Lushaba, Dr. Michael Jana, Dr. Heidi Yung, Dr. Ahmed Veriava and Prof. Joel Quirk. This thesis would not have been completed without the generous financial support of the 2012, 2014 and 2015 Wits University Postgraduate Merit Award, the 2013/2014 Social Sciences Research Council (SSRC) Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Dissertation Research Award which enabled me to undertake my fieldwork, 2014/2015 Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Dissertation Completion Award which enabled me to write my dissertation without having to enter into employment and the 2012 Andrew Mellon Mentorship programme, all of which made it possible for me not to have to sell my body to complete my doctoral thesis. Thank-you, Merci, Ngiyabonga, Murakoza Research Question Has the increased representation of women in parliament in post-genocide Rwanda and post- apartheid South Africa resulted in parliamentary outcomes that address key aspects of gender inequality in each country’s respective societies? i ABSTRACT This study comparatively interrogates the representative parliamentary politics of women political elites in the sub-Saharan African states of post-transition Rwanda and South Africa. It analyses the relationship between women political elites and gender equality outcomes through the theoretical framework of the pre-supposed positive relationship that is said to exist between high levels of women’s descriptive representation and women’s substantive representation. It specifically explores this relationship through the lens of legislative outcomes passed in each state. In South Africa, this legislation takes the form of the 1998 Recognition of Customary Marriages Act and in Rwanda, the 2008 Gender-based Violence Act. This study locates the outcomes of women’s parliamentary politics in these states to the different articulation of elite patriarchal bargains negotiated by women political elites within the opportunities and constraints of parliamentary institutional contexts and the political parties represented in these regimes. I show that the higher the degree to which a ruling political party needs to privilege and emphasise women’s interests in the reproduction of political power and legitimisation of its own authority, the more favourable the terms of the elite patriarchal bargains that women political elites tacitly negotiate within political parties will be for pursuing gender equality legislative outcomes in patriarchal institutional contexts. I illustrate how political institutions located in the state never present conclusive gains or losses for women and gender equality but are contextually ambiguous and contradictory in the ways that they foster representation and locate gendered political accountability. Word Count (excluding footnotes and bibliography) – 99 872 words ii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACDP - African Christian Democratic Party ANC - African National Congress ANCWL – African National Congress Women’s League APROSOMA – Association pour la Promotion Sociale de la Masse (Association for the Social Promotion of the Masses) CALS - Centre for Legal Studies (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) CDR – Coalition pour la Defense de la Republique (Coalition for the Defense of the Republic) CEDAW - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CGE - Commission for Gender Equality CODESA - Convention for a Democratic South Africa CONTRALESA - Council for Traditional Leaders COSATU - Congress of South African Trade Unions DA - Democratic Alliance DP - Democratic Party DRW - Descriptive Representation of Women DWCPD - Women, Children and People living with Disabilities EISA - Electoral Institute of South Africa EU - European Union FF+- Freedom Front Plus FFRP - Forum des Femmes Rwandaises Parlementaires (Rwandan Women’s Parliamentary Forum) FPTP - First-Past-The-Post iii GAP - Gender Advocacy Programme GMO- Gender Monitoring Office GNU - Government of National Unity IDASA - Institute for Democracy in South Africa ID - Independent Democrats IEC - Independent Electoral Commission IFP - Inkatha Freedom Party IPU - Inter-Parliamentary Union JCQLSW - Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women JTM - Joint Tagging Mechanism LCC - Legal and Constitutional Commission MIGEPROFE - Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion MP - Member of Parliament MPL - Member of Provincial Legislature MRND – Mouvement Républicain National pour la démocratie et le développement (National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development) NA - National Assembly NFPO –National Forum of Organisations NCOP - National Council of Provinces NEC - National Executive Committee NGM - National Gender