Sexuality and the Politics of Rights in Southern Africa

Exploring sexuality and what constitutes appropriate sexual behaviours in South Africa and Zimbabwe, this book views sexuality as an instrument of social regulation and traces the historical continuities between colonialism and current debates.

The distinctly contrary ways that both countries have approached sexuality epitomize either the intransigence of the ‘traditional’ or the promise of ‘liberation’. Phillips analyzes their differences and similarities, including the contrasting role of the constitution as a platform for rights in each country, their different engagement with customary law and legal subjectivity within the context of a range of concerns, including:

• gender equality
• expressions of cultural authenticity
• rights in local attempts to define the post-colonial nation.

A powerful look at the key elements of gender relations, post-colonial nationhood and sexual rights, this book is an invaluable legal reference resource for all those interested in the interface between sexuality, gender and the law.