The corrosive cynicism expressed against ANC presidential candidate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has gone to the point of bigotry. This disdain is exacerbated by her previous marriage to ANC president Jacob Zuma, despite being completely irrelevant on every level. It’s this patriarchal hypocrisy, brazenly used to supplant women’s contribution to the struggle, that shapes our everyday life. Men are hardly ever judged by their former spouses. This is completely chauvinistic. The condemnation is aimed at awakening gender stereotypes to undermine the women emancipation agenda. It is equally discouraging to hear other women who are unwilling to reject patriarchal privileges approving of women playing peripheral roles in society. This is a collective failure to achieve gender equality. It doesn’t help the situation when women leaders fail to send the right messages and are always at each other’s throats. This is borne out by the manner in which women give in to a "pull-her-down" syndrome. It’s ...
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