Johannesburg - Both female ANC presidential hopefuls, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu, have slammed the patriarchy that is persisting in their party as the branches have snubbed women by placing their male counterparts on the nomination list.
Former Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane and Fébé Potgieter, the ANC general manager, are the only female candidates for the top six featured on the nomination list released by the party’s electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe. They are battling against each other for the deputy secretary-general position.
Despite the party having hundreds if not thousands of experienced female comrades such as Dlamini-Zuma and Sisulu, it seems the branches have chosen less-known Benjamin Chauke, who is President Cyril Ramaphosa’s political advisor and whose name featured in the Phala Phala scandal, to contest the treasurer-general position.
The death of ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte left the party with only men to lead in the top six.
Both Sisulu and Dlamini Zuma demonstrated their leadership boldness by risking their political careers when they stood up to demand that Ramaphosa should account for his Phala Phala scandal, which involved the theft of more than half a million US dollar from his private residence. Dlamini Zuma even defied the party's instruction by voting for the parliament to start Ramaphosa impeachment process.
Despite being long-standing members of the party’s national executive committee and cabinet ministers, the two veteran female featured nowhere in the list of top six position candidates, unless the nomination from the floor decides otherwise.
“Officials (top six) are the most important structure [as] they decide the agenda, the issues [and] they process the issues. It is important that women are there.
“But we know that there is still patriarchy in the organisation and in society,” said Dlamini Zuma.
All other positions would be contested by men, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and former health minister Zweli Mkhize who the branches have nominated for presidency position despite being tainted by corruption allegations.
In an interview with SABC News Foreign Editor Sophie Mokoena this week, Dlamini Zuma said the top six should have a 50/50 gender balance.
She challenged “the progressive” members of the ANC to push for the inclusion of enough women in the critical leadership structures of the party.
“We cannot boast of being free as a country, as the late OR (Tambo) said, if women are not free.
“Part of every aspect of life in every area of human endeavor, women must be there. In the economy they must be there, judicial and in politics they must be there, and the ANC must lead the way,” she said.
The ANC had in March 2012 released a gender paper policy document with the recommendations that there should be 50/50 representation of women and men in all structures of the society, including government.
During a Press Club South Africa podcast discussion with Professor Sipho Seepe, Sisulu said among the ANC-affiliated structures that have been disbanded under the Ramaphosa-led administration is the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL).
“I don’t know if we had the right to do that. Women have a right to come together. When the woman's organisation joined with the ANC, they did it deliberately because they wanted to join forces with the ANC, they did not do it to be subordinated to the ANC.
“They came in their own right under Charlotte Maxeke, but now we seem to be a junior partner to a male-dominated ANC. They have no right to do that, I believe they have no right, I am convinced they have no right,” said Sisulu.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said gender equality and transformation do not exist in the ANC. He said the commitment to bring women into leadership should start at the branch level “but most of the branch chairpersons are still males (as well as) regional and provincial (structures) are still dominated by males”. He said the ANC lacks the commitment to addressing this inequality.
“To expect at the national level to have women, I don’t think it is realistic. The structure that is supposed to be driving that commitment, which is the ANCWL, I don’t think it is committed. Even when it was existing, I don’t think it was 100% committed.
“Those women who are in those positions are just there for themselves, using that space to enrich themselves, not to empower other women,” she said.
Khumalo said if the ANC, as the leader of the society, fails to empower its own women leaders, the women in the society at large are left on their own.
“The leaders in the ANC are not there to empower people in general, there are there to empower themselves.
“Those people are just using those structures to pursue their narrow interest,” said Khumalo.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe and party acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile are yet to respond to questions sent to them. The story will be updated as soon as the response arrives.