Feminism in South Africa today: Have we lost the praxis?

abstract This Focus tracks some of the changes in feminism(s) in South Africa since the early 1990s, making the argument that institutional politics have depoliticised feminist politics to the extent that a feminist praxis has been lost. Three different impacts on feminist politics are analysed: institutionalisation, transnational organising and populist rhetoric. It is clear that a feminist praxis as developed by radical feminist scholars as a way of life has become seriously weakened in South Africa. A feminist praxis is the internalisation of feminist theoretical principles to the extent that these principles are used to guide feminist action and turn spaces into feminist spaces. It also means that a feminist will locate herself in a space as a feminist. A feminist praxis is the pursuit of a feminist consciousness that becomes a political practice.