Johannesburg - The ANC Women’s League has called on the ANC leadership to unite and promote the unity of the party and the broader movement as a whole.
This came out at the ANCWL held their national executive committee meeting on Friday to discuss the state of the party in general and the recent events in the organisation in particular.
In their engagements, they agreed that the plight of women and their living conditions must be central.
The ANCWL said they are worried about the public conduct of their leaders including the secretary-general of the ANC Ace Magashule.
“With the suspension imposed on him, we appeal to him as women to consider humbling himself while organisational processes unfold. We know that it is difficult but we plead with him to rise above and not conduct himself in ways that further weaken the already struggling ANC,” said the ANCWL in a statement.
“We are further worried that he mentioned the name of our Secretary-General Meokgo Matuba in one of his interviews. The ANCWL will not support any individual leader of the ANC but stands to reaffirm the entire collective leadership of the ANC and our confidence in them to deliver a better life for all especially women and other marginalised groupings,” said the ANCWL.
It said the ANCWL chooses the ANC above divisions in the party.
“We refuse to be drawn in the differences of ANC men who don’t care about the future of the liberation movement. We will remain unshaken to fight for the soul of the ANC and we are confident that those who choose the ANC will stand with us,” it said.
The ANCWL said the unity of the organisation is always sacrosanct even during this difficult time.
“We must encourage democratic centralism and also encourage tolerance of different views in the organisation. Debates and expression of different views must be tolerated and protected in the movement,” it added.
It said the structure must assert the role of the branch as the basic unit of the organisation and the structure that must never be left out in all the decisions of the party.
It said both their meetings agreed that with all the challenges they are going through as a party and society, they must ensure that women come out united and victorious.
“We will work hard to use this difficult period to unite women. We further reflected that the odds are always against women because of patriarchy and that is why we agreed to support women all the time and not only when it is convenient to us.
“This will include women who are removed from positions or those who are facing allegations until their names are cleared,” said the ANCWL.
It said the party is making headlines for the wrong reasons of infighting, divisions and the sad thing is that everything is played out in the media and to the gallery.
“We urge our movement to pay special focus on the heightened violence against women, children and the LGBTQIA+ Community. We must come up with solutions and policies that practically respond to this scourge. Women are still the face of poverty and the quality of their lives is still the same,” it added.
The ANC Women’s League has called on the ANC leadership to unite and promote the unity of the party and the broader movement as a whole.
This came out at the ANCWL held their national executive committee meeting on Friday to delineate on the state of the party in general and the recent events in the organisation in particular.
In their engagements, they agreed that the plight of women and their living conditions must be central.
The ANCWL said they are worried about the public conduct of their leaders including the secretary-general of the ANC Ace Magashule.
“With the suspension imposed on him, we appeal to him as women to consider humbling himself while organisational processes unfold. We know that it is difficult but we plead with him to rise above and not conduct himself in ways that further weaken the already struggling ANC, said ANCWL secretary-general Meokgo Matuba.
“We are further worried that he mentioned the name of our secretary-general Meokgo Matuba in one of his interviews. The ANCWL will not support any individual leader of the ANC but stands to reaffirm the entire collective leadership of the ANC and our confidence in them to deliver a better life for all especially women and other marginalised groupings,” she said.
Matuba said the ANCWL chooses the ANC above all divisions in the movement.
“We refuse to be drawn in the differences of ANC men who don’t care about the future of the liberation movement. We will remain unshaken to fight for the soul of the ANC and we are confident that those who choose the ANC will stand with us,” she said.
The ANCWL said the unity of the organisation is always sacrosanct even during this difficult time.
“We must encourage democratic centralism and also encourage tolerance of different views in the organisation. Debates and expression of different views must be tolerated and protected in the movement,” said Matuba.
Matuba said the structure must assert the role of the branch as the basic unit of the organisation and the structure that must never be left out in all the decisions of the movement.
She said both their meetings agreed that with all the challenges they are going through as a movement and society, they must ensure that women come out united and victorious.
“We will work hard to use this difficult period to unite women. We further reflected that the odds are always against women because of patriarchy and that is why we agreed to support women all the time and not only when it is convenient to us.
“This will include women who are removed from positions or those who are facing allegations until their names are cleared,” said Matuba.
She said the party is making headlines for the wrong reasons of infighting, divisions and the sad thing is that everything is played out in the media and to the gallery.
“We urge our movement to pay special focus on the heightened violence against women, children and the LGBTQIA+ Community. We must come up with solutions and policies that practically respond to this scourge. Women are still the face of poverty and the quality of their lives is still the same,” she said.
Political Bureau