Although the international press chronicled the dismantling of South Africa's apartheid policies, it paid little attention to the role women from a variety of political parties. This book tells the story of liberation, showing how these women achieved electoral success, learned to work with lifelong enemies, and began to transform Parliament.

At the same time, Britton demonstrates that not even national leadership can ensure power for all women and that many who were elected to South Africa's first democratic parliament declined to run again, feeling they could have a greater impact working in their own communities. Hannah Britton is an assistant professor of political science at Mississippi State University.