Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has distanced her department and reading initiative, the ‘Read to Lead’ campaign, from a series of semi naked pictures of women posted on Twitter.
The pictures were posted by the Department’s Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, on his Twitter page in an apparent bid to promote reading.
The highly inappropriate Tweets below objectify women. @ElijahMhlanga, right thing to do is delete & unequivocally apologise. Reading we should all do:
The Will to Change: Men Masculinity & Love(Hooks) We Should All Be Feminists(Adichie) Sister Outsider(Lorde)@DBE_SA #ReadToLead pic.twitter.com/SAKNJdYqBh— Equal Education (@equal_education) August 13, 2019
Motshekga says she’s ordered appropriate action to be taken.
The department says while it commends initiatives to encourage learners to read more, it doesn’t agree with the use of sexualised images of women to decorate campaigns.
They further hold a different view on the subsequent defence of usage of such images.
Through a statement, the department says, once again such incidents highlights the misogynistic privilege enjoyed by men who defend this behaviour through marketing targets.
Mhlanga has since apologised, but refused to grant an interview on the matter.
