AgangSA statement on the comments of the ANC Women's League regarding the potential for a female President

"Dis tyd, ke Nako! AgangSA is astonished by the comments of Angie Motshekga, President of the ANC Women's League, that the party is not yet ready to elect a female President.

"Nearly 20 years since our freedom, it is sad to see that some women in government have internalised such an inferiority complex.

"The ANC is stuck in the past and is out of touch with the people who elected them. If we were ready for our first black President then we are ready for our first female President. Certainly AgangSA members across the country would agree. 

"Equality, dignity and freedom, these are the values that women like Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke, Lilian Ngoyi and Mamphela Ramphele fought for. In his endorsement of Dr Ramphele, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu acknowledged that, 'She is an African woman - I happen to think women make better politicians than men.' 

"Women have all of the leadership qualities and more needed to take our communities and companies forward and we make up the majority of our population. We must become more representative through empowerment, education and encouragement.

"If we are to restore the promise of freedom, all South Africans must have the opportunity to realise their full potential for the benefit of our country. We should be setting a better example by celebrating and encouraging women leaders from all walks of life, those who are the backbone of the rural economy, who are breaking the glass ceilings of the Boardrooms and are the stokvel savers who protect the future of their families". 

Statement issued by Vanessa Hani, Women's Organiser, AgangSA, October 8 2013

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