Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is tipped to take over from her ex-husband as president of South Africa – but a Xhosa royal family is not convinced she is up to the job… because she is a woman.
Xhanti Sigcawu, the brother of King Mpendulo Sigcawu, told South Africa’s News24 that he agreed she might be too “delicate”:
The King said he wonders, with women’s vulnerability, will she be able to handle the role? Men have been struggling with the job. It’s a question that we need to ask. This was not directed purely at Dlamini-Zuma, it’s to all women.” The comments come after Ms Dlamini Zuma, 68, visited the traditional seat of the king, known as Nqadu Great Place, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province earlier this week.
And it has upset some people.
Nkosikhulule Xhawulengweni Nyembezi, a researcher, analyst and human rights activist, has written an open letter to the Xhosa monarch in today’s Daily Dispatch newspaper:
It is not a place of a king to say who should stand for public office or to imply who ordinary South Africans should vote for. That is a fundamental right of individual citizens.” South Africa’s seven traditional monarchs have little political power, but have an advisory role and resolve local disputes.
The governing African National Congress (ANC) is electing a new leader in December, and its women’s league has put forward Ms Dlamini-Zuma as a candidate.
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