Many women participate in politics, and other professional spheres.
But the country has become notorious for astonishing levels of violence against women and children, and the poverty that afflicts a huge proportion of the population most heavily disadvantages women. This has paid dividends in the sense that simultaneously, as South Africa became free in 1993-94, the issue of gender equity was integral to the freedom that was attained by everyone. Gender discrimination was outlawed in the constitution, and institutions were strategically placed to be like watchdogs both in and outside government, to ensure that womens' rights are not only promulgated, but also protected. That translates into representation in terms of women's presence in government. In parliament, the speaker, the deputy speaker being women, and at provincial level and local level we're talking about a third or more women in all those structures.