African Women's Movements
Transforming Political Landscapes

This book examines the causes of women's unprecedented success in African politics after the 1990s.

Aili Mari Tripp (Author), Isabel Casimiro (Author), Joy Kwesiga (Author), Alice Mungwa (Author)

9780521704908, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 10 November 2008

280 pages, 1 map 10 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.42 kg

'This path-breaking book draws on a wide range of gender and politics scholarship as well as careful empirical research to explore important questions about the role of women's movements in politics and policymaking in Africa. In a sophisticated comparative analysis, the authors, who are all experts in their field, show us how women's movements and new international norms interacted with the changing political landscape in Africa to produce a number of women-friendly reforms. By significantly advancing our understanding of these complex phenomena, this book will make an important contribution to the study of gender and politics in Africa as well as to comparative politics, gender studies and African studies more generally.' Georgina Waylen, The University of Sheffield

Women entered the political scene in Africa after the 1990s, claiming more than one third of the parliamentary seats in countries like Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi. Women in Rwanda hold the highest percentage of legislative seats in the world. Women's movements lobbied for constitutional reforms and new legislation to expand women's rights. This book examines the convergence of factors behind these dramatic developments, including the emergence of autonomous women's movements, changes in international and regional norms regarding women's rights and representation, the availability of new resources to advance women's status, and the end of civil conflict. The book focuses on the cases of Cameroon, Uganda, and Mozambique, situating these countries in the broader African context. The authors provide a fascinating analysis of the way in which women are transforming the political landscape in Africa.

1. Introduction
2. Historic influences on contemporary women's movements
3. The rise of the new women's movements
4. The challenge of new women's movements
5. Women's movements and constitutional and legislative challenges
6. In pursuit of equal political representation
7. Engendering the state bureaucracy
8. Women's movements negotiating peace
9. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Comparative politics [JPB], Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], African history [HBJH]