I
T is generaUy accepted that the single
most important event which set the
process towards irrevocable change in
South Africa in motion, was the now
famous speech by former State President
F W de Klerk at the opening of Parliament
on 2 February 1990. The unbanning of the
African National Congress (ANC), Pan
Africanist Congress (PAC) and the South
African Communist Party (SACP) and the
release of Mr Nelson Mandela paved the
way for negotiations on a democratic
future for the country, the abolition of
apartheid and the first free elections held
in April 1994. What is less often recognized,
is that 2 FebrualY 1990 also proved
a watershed for women in South Africa.
For the first time women's concerns came
to the fore.