Civil Society Organizations and Policy Making on Gender Issues: South Africa and Nigeria in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Gender issues are peculiar to every society. The main goal of gender policy is gender equality at all levels. In order to achieve this goal, women must be able to influence policies that relate to their issues. One of the ways to achieve this influential position is through Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). CSOs have long been a source of influence in policy making globally. These organizations come in the form of groups/movements with the same aims and objectives, in order to present the voices of common people at decision making levels. They deal with different issues such as - security, women’s issues, health and human rights, just to mention few - which motivate them to pressurize policy makers and influence policy making. Despite the United Nations’ insistence on states’ collaboration with CSOs in order to achieve developmental goals, especially in Africa, CSOs are still regarded by some scholars as third parties which can either slow down or hasten policy making processes. Thus, this study aims to explore and compare the impact of CSOs on policies that are related to women’s issues in South Africa and Nigeria, and the extent of their influence on policy making. It has been observed that CSOs (women’s organizations) are becoming more visible in decision making in South Africa in comparison with its African counterpart. This has had a huge impact on the disparity in output as far as women’s issues are concerned. Therefore, it becomes necessary to examine the attributes that are responsible for this difference, the progress both countries have made so far in elevating women’s positions at the decision making levels and the significance of the policies on the lives of women in both countries.