ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach can be used to discern social policy environments and the position of women concerning access to social policies in South Africa and Sierra Leone. We see capabilities as opportunities and explore policy opportunities women in these countries have to live lives they value. Our discussion explores instrumental capabilities as outlined by Sen. These can be seen as foundational opportunities to enable more specific individual or collective choices women may want to make. The instrumental capabilities examined here are political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees and protective security. Furthermore, we pay attention to how women in both countries have used individual and/or collective agency in development programmes.
