By Dr. Fikile Vilakazi
The ANC remains a hetero-patriarchal political party after 110 years of existence. This is the biggest liberation movement in Africa that in my view carries the responsibility to chant a way forward in relation to the participation of womxn.
LGBTIQA+ and gender non-conforming people in political power on the African continent given the constitution of South Africa and its affirmations on gender and sexuality rights. Charlotte Maxeke was the first woman to challenge the ANC to include womxn in their political ranks, after a long painful struggle of patriarchal exclusion and oppression of womxn within the African National Congress when it was formed in 1912.
We know that Charlotte Maxeke and others had to form the Bantu Women’s League as a result which operated on the pavements of the ANC for sometime before women were allowed to join the ANC. The situation of subjection to patriarchy has continued over time where our mothers, sisters, daughters and aunts would never be seen as capable of political articulation and power sharing with male counterparts within the ANC.
We see this in the manner in which women have never been enabled to join strategic leadership positions like the top 6, a decision-making structure in between conference, for a long time until very recently when the late Jessy Duarte emerged as deputy secretary general to Ace Magashule who was suspended due to corruption allegations from the Zondo Commission Report.
Of course, we have seen at the ANC elective conference of 2022 the inclusion of Gwen Ramokgopa as treasure general for the first time ever, followed by the inclusion of Nomvula Mokonyane and Maropene Ramokgopa, making a herstorical trio that ensured 42% representation of women in the Top 7 structure of the ANC for the first time after 110 years of existence.
This is commendable albeit may be threatened by the findings of the Zondo Commission against Nomvula Mokonyane should she be charged based on BOSASA allegation of corruption that are hanging over her head.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front under the leadership of President Paul Kagame leads Africa with more that 50% of women representation in political institutions, so, the ANC can do better noting that it is the longest serving liberation movement on the Africa continent.
The SADC Gender Protocol Barometer that was issued in 2020 by Gender Links shows that women speakers/presidents of parliament in the SADC region have decreased from 40% in 2018 to 35% in 2019. South Africa is clearly implicated in that the country has never had a womxn and/or feminist president since colonization, except when the late Queen Elizabeth was the head of state when South Africa was under British colonization.
She is the only woman that has ever been the head of state of South Africa. Why? Phumzile Mlabo-Ngcuka followed as Deputy President under President Thabo Mbeki and that is all what the ANC could offer South Africa.
We can do better. Patriarchy Must Fall!. This has to change mainly because our mothers, sisters, daughters and aunts are capable leaders in their own right. Albertina Sisulu was the only woman present when the ANC Youth League was formed.
Nkosazana Dlamini -Zuma has led the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and some Ministries in the country and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has led the UN Women in Geneva and New York. Lindiwe Sisulu has led at Ministerial levels and others portfolios as well.
Thandi Modise was also nominated by the Women’s League for a position of Deputy Presidency at the 55th National Elective Conference of 2022 but she did not make the threshold needed from voters.
Why? Why is it that branches of the ANC do not have confidence in the leadership of women within the ANC after 110 years? What is the reason for this marginalization of womxn’s power within ANC politics? These questions are asked in view of the fact that women in the ANC are seasoned politicians who have led side by side during uMkhonto weSizwe right up to the liberation of South Africa from apartheid. The Women’s Jail at the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg stands as testimony of their experiences, torture, fighting and capabilities to defend South Africa.
The 1956 march against pass laws is one other incident that demonstrates this capability. What has gone wrong over the years? Well, time has come for a woman President for South Africa.
The ANC has unfortunately failed once again to deliver a women and/or feminist President for the country. There is clearly still a long way to uproot patriarchy within the ANC. Womxn within the ANC are on their own. Fikile Mbalula, the general secretary of the ANC told those who refuse to bow down to his authority and refuse to toe the line of democratic centralism to go and form their own parties.
I suppose this include people like Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu. This is not surprising in that Nelson Mandela told Peter Mokaba the same thing a couple of years ago. We have been here before, and for how long really are we going to stand and watch as spectators?
Glossary of terms
Womxn: In the context of this article includes variations of women as evolving away from stereotypical and traditional notions of womanhood in society. It therefore includes cis-gender women (those whose gender is aligned with their biological make up at birth), trans-women (those who transitioned from their original biological make up to align their preferred gender identity and expression and those who biological make at birth maybe assumed as male or female yet their own preferred gender identity and expression is that of gender nonconformity.
Herstorical: in the context of this article refers to the recognition of stories of women in the same way as history which is seen as focusing largely on stories of men in society. So, herstory recognizes the value of women as well in what is generally called and taken for granted as history to ensure that the term is linguistically engendered to include her stories as well. The essence of meaning lies in the pronoun his and hers in the word story. It can also linguistically be expanded to include their story for people who are gender non-conforming including transgender identities and expressions.
Dr. Fikile Vilakazi, Political Analyst, International and Public Affairs Cluster, School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal
