Women Politicians In South Africa

"“We are seldom used to seeing people outside of our cultures.”"

"During her husband's presidency, Marike was the leader of the National Party's women's wing.[8] She also founded the Women's Outreach Foundation (WOF), an organisation that focused on the upliftment of rural women."

"Social development deputy minister says women are 'equally responsible' for gender-based violence Unathi Nkanjeni ,(05 December 2019)retrieved 2025-04-04"

"“It’s good to know that we can have an effect on people across the street as well as those across the ocean,”"

"In 1990 de Klerk called for women to play a more active role in the political process.[9] In 1993, she was awarded the Woman for Peace Award in Geneva, Switzerland for promoting the well being and development of rural women."

"Official: Signer’s company ‘vanished’,Lucy McCalmont, (12/12/2013) retrieved 2025-April 2025"

"Let's not sit about waiting for enough evidence while women and children are dying. Evidence and research must find us in the process of action"

"Women are not only victims, but also contributors. We raise angry boys. We are all equally guilty"

"Once again, President Mandela lived beyond his grave to actually remind all of us that as we communicate and as we speak, there are those that we exclude every single day"

"If I did it, you can do it too and work your way up towards reuniting with your families and playing a meaningful role in society"

"At the end of the day we go back to the trenches as women to see where it is we didn’t go right to ensure that we got more women."

"Look here I am today, a minister and have actively participated in the liberation of the country."

"But if you must know I myself got pregnant before the age of 16 and quickly got another baby when I was 16 and I disappointed my grandmother who was taking care of us through hardship."

"The main reason why we keep pushing for women is that we believe as women we have the capacity and capability to be in a leadership position of the African National Congress."

"focus on education."

"We want to see more women in the leadership structures."

"They’ve vanished, we’ve managed to get ahold of them and then we spoke to them wanting some answers and they vanished into thin air"

"I don’t think we should be embarrassed because as a country a mistake happened while we were trying"

"Adams reminded the staff that MPs were not their 'peers', and instructed them to 'address all MPs as honourable member or Ms, Mrs or Mr. Internal disciplinary action will be instituted against any staff member that violates this instruction.'"

"Adams also warned Cope staff that she would 'not tolerate' anyone who lodges a complaint at the CCMA, and told them to sign an attendance register twice a day or face the consequences."

"Adams told Sowetan that the staff were disgruntled because she was introducing normal practices that had not been in place when the Mbazima Shilowa faction ran Parliament."

"As a respected elder in the ANC, she will continue to be a key figure in the country’s political landscape."

"Her influence will likely remain in the areas of defense, women’s rights, and leadership."

"She was instrumental in transforming the South African military by focusing on gender inclusivity and the wellbeing of veterans."

"Mapisa-Nqakula’s political journey was shaped by her early activism, especially her involvement in the ANC Women’s League."

"Her work has focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged South Africans, particularly women and military veterans."

"Public education of the highest standard for all children is critical for democracy to flourish, and was integral to the liberation struggle, as lack of education is the greatest exclusion there can be. I fully support and endorse the establishment of a trust that funds scholarships to support young women from less advantaged backgrounds who show academic potential. Tonight I would like to add my voice to those of many others in congratulating the young women who have won scholarships to study at this wonderful educational institution. Jeppe Girls High, through the Ruth First Jeppe Trust, has set an example of how communities can come together to provide education for all, not just the privileged few. We need many more of these initiatives so that the ugly shadow of our apartheid history is eliminated from the lives and opportunities of our children."

"Ruth used her education and her enquiring mind, analytical thoroughness and personal courage as tools in the struggle against apartheid and colonialism, and in working for a world committed to fairness, justice and the advancement of people. She read voraciously. She studied all manner of topics. Ruth is credited with writing books on diverse topics ranging from Mozambican migrant workers to Libyan politics."

"It is Ruth's sense of justice that continues to inspire millions of South Africans today, even as we increasingly live in a world where injustice prevails and material benefit is idolised. Ruth's struggle and our Constitution should inspire all of us to continue the fight for a more just world, where the provision of high quality public education to all children must take the highest priority."

"Ruth fought for a world in which all people, irrespective of race or gender, had equal opportunities, a world where children from both rich and poor families would have access to the best education and the best work opportunities. Despite all of our problems and challenges as a society, we should remain steadfast in our commitment to build a South Africa in which opportunity is shared more equally, where hard work and effort trump the shadow of history."

"Let me say a few words about Ruth, the inspiration for this initiative and whose life comprised multiple facets. She was an activist, a revolutionary, a woman, a mother, a journalist, a writer and an academic. In addition to these attributes, she espoused and lived a set of values that continue to shape our country today and are deeply embedded in our Constitution and our aspirations. These values include non- racialism and non-sexism, a sense of justice and fairness that puts the interests of the poor and ordinary people ahead of self-interest; the commitment and courage to not only stand for what is right, but also to stand against what is wrong."

"The challenge of transformation is to improve quality. Time management is essential but we also have to measure our performance against benchmarks. For instance we need to know how many days are spent teaching and how well learners are doing."

"Education takes the most extraordinary amount of discipline, effort and hard work. Reward is always related to this. Time management, beginning with arriving on time for lessons, is essential, but it is a very hard thing to learn."

"I must tell you that the attitude of the staff, which had been one of anger initially, changed quite fundamentally after this incident. I think what changed the dynamic was that I had experienced some of their daily reality, and the conditions under which they work."

"It was an unusual background and I often felt a cultural clash between my school and home environments."

"It was interesting to note that every time events in our history offered people a choice between race or class solidarity, race seemed to win. Marxists were ingenious at explaining this away, but it was all rather tortuous. Marxists have to squeeze facts into their framework, to prove the historical inevitability of the working class revolution and the demise of capitalism."

"Today we know that there are African women writers who can ensure that the history of women is written down for future generations, who can convey the emotions, aspirations, suffering and achievements of African women."

"There can be no genuine development without gender equality and the liberation of women being central to this development. A People’s Revolution is a Women’s Revolution."

"Today this kind of analysis is entirely obsolete, but at the time it was taken as self-evident by many activists. This kind of ideology does not respect alternative views or allow an open society."

"When we look back at history, we now see the past with a gender sensitive lens. We see that at every great gathering of African intellectuals and leadership, women were present as participants. Yet their names are not as prominent in the history books."

"To date the women of Africa, like women elsewhere, have not been included as full, equal and effective stakeholders in processes that determine their lives. Their role and contribution to national and continental development processes are neither recognised nor rewarded; they continue to be absent from decision making and although they bear the brunt of conflicts, women are generally not included in peace negotiations or other initiatives."

"There is a greater feminisation of poverty arising out of the global economic turmoil which has affected the majority of people all over the world. In Africa women continue to till the land yet still fight for access to land. Women seeking ownership rights still have to face and challenge traditional culture in terms of its gender bias."

"My department is working with various other ministerial departments on joint ventures which will be beneficial for the tourism sector."

"Yet sustainable economic and social development can only be achieved with the full participation and leadership of women on the African continent. In order to overturn centuries of underdevelopment, women need to position themselves at the centre of development processes."

"We aim to encourage South African citizens to travel within their own country."

"well-staffed schools would lose teachers and under-staffed schools would gain teachers. I supported this objective, as well as the original strategy to achieve it, which would have enabled well-staffed schools to determine which posts to lose on the basis of educational criteria."

"The majority of people in this industry are women but they mostly remain in entry level positions."

"Our young people are uninformed and know only what they’ve been exposed to, so we are already making it a priority to keep young people informed and provide the necessary skills and mentorship for every young person to participate in politics."

"“We have identified areas where we can work together on promotion, while we are also discussing issues of infrastructure and hotel grading."

"The voices of young people in Parliament are essential for South Africa’s future. Political parties must go beyond symbolic representation and equip young MPs with the tools and mentorship they need to succeed,”"