The Gender Dimension of International Relations: South African Women in Leadership Positions in United Nations Structures

In the current conditions of confrontation with the West, Russia seeks to diversify its external relations, hence a growing attention it pays to such partners as African countries. Establishing effective cooperation requires deep knowledge of political elites, which is largely facilitated by the research of Russian Africanists, conducted primarily at the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences as well as in other research centers - the Centre for African Studies of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University, MGIMO University, HSE University, IMEMO of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Oriental Faculty of St. Petersburg State University, etc. Among their areas of interest are such subjects as the study of female political elites, as well as the elites in multilateral institutions, primarily in the UN structures.

Since the early 2000s, one of the main features of the formation of political leadership in the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) has been the expansion of women’s representation in government bodies at all levels. Some of these women held leadership positions in various UN structures. This article uses functional and biographical research methods to analyze the activities of South African women who have been active in human rights issues, in the fight against hunger and HIV/AIDS at the national and international levels, at the UN and the African Union. This article’s research was centered at such prominent South African political figures as Mrs. N. Pillay, Mrs. P. Mlambo-Ngcuka, and Mrs. S. Sisulu. The author notes both their achievements in solving the above-mentioned contemporary problems and the difficulties they encountered in their activities.

Special attention is paid to the attitude of South African women towards the issue of gender equality, which they consider a necessary condition for democratic development. At various multilateral venues, Mrs. N. Pillay, Mrs. P. Mlambo-Ngcuka, and Mrs. S. Sisulu advocated for the empowerment of women in all areas of political, economic, and public life, both while holding leadership positions in the UN and after completing their terms of office. The long-standing work of South African women at the UN in the fight for human rights, against hunger and HIV/AIDS and for gender equality demonstrates the possibility of women’s participation in solving contemporary problems at levels of utmost significance.

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