Young women's participation in electoral process in post 1994 South Africa : the case of Pretoria East constituency

Abstract

The study investigates young women’s participation in electoral processes in Pretoria East in post 1994 South Africa. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A case study that focused on young women aged between 18 and 35 was conducted in Pretoria East. Participants were selected using snowball sampling. The study drew on a narrative of 553 participants, 523 questionnaire respondents, 26 focus group respondents, and four semi-structured interviews. Questionnaires, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and secondary data analysis were used as instruments to collect data from the participants. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The primary findings showed that young women are not motivated to participate in electoral processes because of issues such as corruption and nepotism, a patriarchal society, inequality toward women and a lack of support. Among some of its recommendations, the study proposes gender equality, education and young women empowerment, job creation, and support from society and male counterparts.