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Durban – ANC stalwart and African Union chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, on Sunday urged women to transform, and not conform to, society.
Dlamini-Zuma was speaking during the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) commemoration of 40-year anniversary of the Soweto Uprising and 60-year anniversary of the Women’s March. The ANCWL also launched its Young Women’s Desk and Doek Weekend campaign at Durban City Hall.
“The young women must push the frontiers and transform this society and not conform to it. We all have a role to play. We’re passing the baton on to the next generation,” she said.
Dlamini-Zuma said the launch of the women’s desk in KwaZulu-Natal was meant to create a platform where women could be heard, articulate themselves and share ideas.
“Here, they can just to be amongst themselves and talk about issues that they are affected by. It’s important that this desk is tied to the Women’s League. They can gain a lot of valuable experience from the older women and the younger women can also impart their thoughts and ideas on how they fit into society.”
Dlamini-Zuma said, although South African women had progressed since apartheid, there was “still a long way to go”.
She said it was important for women to now move away from micro-businesses and join major sectors, such as mining and trade.
Fikile Masiko, chairperson of the women’s desk in KwaZulu-Natal, said the platform was meant “to open a road for young women across all sectors”.
“We want to be a place for young women to call home. We will engage young women from branch level onward. We all have the capacity to lead. We’re ready for a female president. We’ve waited for too long. We want our women president now.”
ANCWL national president, Bathabile Dlamini, urged women to continue uplifting each other.
“Once you get elected into a position of power, you must take responsibility. Poverty is the face of women. It’s up to us to lift our fellow sisters up and ensure we rise together.”
She also encouraged women to enter major sectors and focus on academics. – AFP
derick.khumalo