South Africa will continue to push for gender parity on the judicial bench “vigorously and unapologetically”, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi said this week.
Addressing the Second High-Level Meeting of Women Judicial Leaders of Africa, Kubayi highlighted the country’s shift from a male-dominated past to a more inclusive present.
More women in judiciary
Kubayi detailed the stark contrast between the judiciary of 1994 and today. At the dawn of democracy, the bench consisted of 165 judges. Of those, 160 were white men, three were black men, and two were white women.
“South Africa had no black woman judge in 1994,” Kubayi noted during her keynote address.
The current landscape looks vastly different. Out of 255 judges, 124 are women.
Women lead six of the 15 Superior Courts while making up 55% of the total number of magistrates.
“The magistracy has fared much better in terms of gender transformation in that of the 1 626 magistrates, 898 are women. This means that 55% of the total number of magistrates are women,” said Kubayi.
“We are immensely proud that women in the judiciary continue to lead in our quest to transform our jurisprudence on gender equality, reproductive rights and the protection of the vulnerable. Their presence in the judiciary is in line with the vision of our constitutional order,” the minister said.
“Progress has indeed been made; however, more still needs to be done,” Kubayi said.
Milestone at ConCourt
The push for equality reached a new high with the recent appointment of Justice Nambitha Christabel Dambuza-Mayosi and Justice Katharine Mary Savage to the Constitutional Court.
Led by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, the Constitutional Court now holds a female majority. This makes it one of the few woman-majority apex courts in the world. The Supreme Court of Appeal also has a majority of women judges.
“Women in the judiciary continue to lead in our quest to transform our jurisprudence on gender equality and reproductive rights,” Kubayi said.
Watchdogs applaud growth, call for resources
Judicial watchdog group Judges Matter welcomed the appointments as a historic milestone.
Mbekezeli Benjamin, a researcher at Judges Matter, described the move as a vital step for the nation’s highest court. Both new justices bring decades of legal experience and specialised appellate knowledge.
“The historic appointment of two more women to our apex court is welcome news,” Benjamin said.
However, he also urged the government to support this representative bench with better funding.
While acknowledging efforts to ensure judicial independence, he called for “urgent interventions to allocate more resources”.
He said this should be done to ensure the Constitutional Court delivers justice quickly and restores its global reputation for excellence.
