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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 10 2012 06:28 | LAST UPDATED Feb 10 2012 06:28 |
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There has been much sound and fury over the conduct and comments of political leaders around women and sex. Julius Malema talked about date rape and pregnant teens, then revelations about Kgalema Motlanthe’s private life set the blogs ablaze. Nicole Johnston, Thembelihle Tshabalala, Nosimilo Ndlovu and Monako Dibetle took to the streets to feel the people’s pulse. It's an outrage Reverend Bafana Khumalo, co-director of the Sonke Gender Justice Project We are appalled by Julius Malema’s comments: they portray a lack of understanding of what women go through because of gender violence. But even more appalling is the silence from the ANC when a key leader makes such comments. It is an indictment on how it views women’s rights. We challenge the ANC leadership to come out clearly on this issue. Our country has a high level of sexual violence and a justice system that cannot deal adequately with the problem, as well as a very high HIV rate. Many of the pregnant teenagers were raped or coerced into transactional sex because of poverty. It takes two to tango, but we hear nothing about the older men who often impregnate girls. Malema’s comments show lack of understanding of the complexity of our society. It is worrying that people who are supposed to be leading our nation have such warped notions about women’s rights and women’s bodies. Dr Sarojini Nadar, senior lecturer and programme director: gender and religion, University of KwaZulu-Natal A woman who is raped doesn’t stay for breakfast or ask for taxi money is what rape expert Julius Malema told Cape Tech students. How does he know how a survivor of rape should behave? Has he been with one in the morning? Why is it not acceptable to ask for taxi money? Is there a ritual of walking (as opposed to taking a taxi) that must accompany the “culture” of rape in Malema’s imminent scholarly work on “Seven signs that a woman has been raped”? Is there a mandatory ritual of fasting (by avoiding breakfast) that the victim should follow to purge herself of the “sin” of being raped? Perhaps some of our regional and high court judges will rush out to buy a copy of Malema’s book, because clearly they too see themselves as experts on when a woman is raped, and why. Remember the judge who -- in passing sentence on three rapists -- urged men who felt enticed to rape women because of their attire, to give them material instead to “cover up” their bodies. The worrying part is that the judges in our court system actually did progress beyond high school -- unlike Malema who still remains uneducated -- except, it would seem, on the habits of rape survivors. Kumi Naidoo, activist and honorary president of Civicus As a South African man I hope that all South Africans are ashamed that our leaders feel comfortable expressing such atrocious views of women. It is up to our country’s leadership to make sure that Julius Malema and others know that these views are unacceptable. It is not only degrading, but it reveals a shocking insensitivity towards the issue of rape and gender-based violence that is so sadly prevalent throughout South African society. Amanda Gouws, professor of political science, University of Stellenbosch To say that Julius Malema is sexist would simply add another adjective to an already long string of adjectives that refer to him as stupid, ignorant and arrogant. Somehow he is immune to these. The banality of his statement about the rape survivor in the Zuma case shows that little of the gender rhetoric of the Mbeki era, or the 16 days campaigns, have rubbed off on the ANC Youth League or the laughing and cheering students he was addressing. Once more in their blind allegiance to Jacob Zuma his supporters have shown us the ugliness of misogyny in which rape can be equated with a pleasurable “sexual favour”. Did Malema ever consider Kwezi’s shame in having to ask for taxi money from a man she accused of raping her? And in case Malema wants to know, Kwezi lives in destitution in a foreign country -- for all intents and purposes stripped of her citizenship. But I guess Malema will fail to see how Kwezi’s fate can be an issue at the heart of democracy and gender equality.  CONTINUES BELOW Lisa Vetten, researcher and policy analyst, Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to End Violence Against Women What do the women’s rights’ activists in the ANC think when Jacob Zuma and his acolyte Julius Malema call for the internment of pregnant teenage girls in education camps? Were all those conceptions the result of parthenogenesis, with no male involvement or responsibility? Do they -- like Malema -- think Zuma’s accuser had a “nice time”? And how do they uphold a man whose trial for rape was a textbook illustration of legal sexism? Indeed, some of the discriminatory practices employed in that trial (like the “cautionary approach” applied to the complainant’s testimony, or the negative inference drawn from her delayed report) are no longer permissible in terms of the 2007 Sexual Offences Act. These are fierce and articulate women who drafted the Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, ensured the entrenchment of gender equality and reproductive rights in the Constitution, spearheaded model national gender machinery, pushed for progressive legislation such as the Domestic Violence Act and the Choice on the Termination of Pregnancy Act and fought for women’s representation in political structures. How can they stand by so silently while their history and achievements are trampled by the members of their own party? What's the problem? Nombuso Zondi, Pietermaritzburg I’m indifferent on Kgamela Motlanthe, but really you can’t be a public figure and be seen to be leading a life of having different women and sleeping with young girls. Soon we will hear him trying to talk about living a faithful life and condomising to stop HIV/Aids. He is contributing to the problems instead of helping to stop them. Mike Mogale, Limpopo It is known in our societies that younger women are more exciting than older women ... they are soft and sexy. Married women tend to be very boring, that’s why we men try to score the young ones. Personally, I think that Motlanthe behaved like a real man. Real African men always have lots of women. Motlanthe deserves a round of applause for being better than Thabo Mbeki. I think it is time we forget about Zuma now and start supporting Motlanthe. He is our new champion. Julius Mathe Tladi, Soweto Dating young people used to be contrary to the good morals of the society but not any longer. There are sugar daddies everywhere and they don’t even hide any more. It’s like this young woman dating Motlanthe -- she saw a man in a person old enough to be her grandfather. Who is to blame? Maybe the girl wants the nice life and money. Maybe Motlanthe is a good lover. Anyway, a young woman of 24 years is no longer a child. She’s a big girl and very ripe. Viola Mabalane, Jo’burg If our mothers understand and accept that we are dating older men then it means that this is what our society has become. I think this has very little to do with the men because men are men, it is more a reflection on us as young black women. We need to re-evaluate our morals when it comes to such things because it’s always easy to point fingers, while the actual problem is with us liking money and bling. Qaqamba Tyopo, Jo’burg There was a time when our culture didn’t allow older men to even look at younger girls in any way other than as daughters, but now things have changed. I am not sure that this is the kind of example that our leaders should be setting. The truth is that we have been seeing the trend of wealthy older men with young women because they’re rich. Very few of these relationships are about love, many are transactional. Zeenande Nzama, Mpumalanga What he is doing is nothing new. He is a sugar daddy, but because he is the president we expect him to be our moral leader. He can do anything he wants. He is human. Cut him some slack. PM Melato Kagiso, Mogale City Men are generally not happy with one woman and history can prove that. Remember the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky saga? I don’t care about the age difference or sexual morals. Those things don’t count any more. Mmathuto Legodi, Randburg Some women date successful older men as a survival strategy. Women with rich sugar daddies are not in a taxi like you and I right now, they are either driven to work by their daddies or bought cars. I am not saying it’s right. I am just saying that women are still deprived of many opportunities, so very few of us will ever be independent women. Willem Mnisi, Mogale City Should Motlanthe die of hunger when there’s a queue of women waiting for him to ask them out? TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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