Who fights for women?

It is still a long way to achieving the 50/50 representation in "all the structures of the ANC, institutions of state, the economy and society", but we are trying, no?

But does this mean the work of the ANC Women's League is done? Where is the ANC Women's League?

A quick visit to the league website left me wondering about the agenda of the ruling party's female wing for 2011.

The women's league of the biggest political party has issued 20 press statements this year, and 10 of them dealt with its local government elections campaign.

Interestingly, a read through the information on its website shows that the election campaign was the only activity that showed the league in action and interacting with communities that they are supposed to be changing for the better.

In a glimpse of what the league would achieve if it were alive and well, the ruling party's fairer sex kicked off the election campaign on February 12 with a call to delegates to its Northern Cape and North West conferences to ensure "adequate representation of women" on the ANC's provincial executive committees.

It reminded delegates of the "National General Council resolutions that there should be a 50/50 gender parity in all the structures of the ANC, institutions of state, the economy and society".

After searching the website for the "programme of action for 2011", which, according to a press release, was to have been formulated at a lekgotla on February 20 and 21, I gave up looking for it. It does not seem as if it exists; if it does, it is not readily available.

Back to the only campaign of the league this year - the "30 days of non-stop electioneering campaign" was launched in the Free State and during these days the league's leaders spoke to farm workers about the importance of voting. The national and provincial leaders went to taxi ranks. They spoke to young women and mothers in Taung, Zeerust and Rustenburg, in North West.

The league urged Western Cape residents in rural areas, townships, informal settlements and farming communities to vote for the ANC.

It left no province unattended. In KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, long-forgotten leaders urged the people to vote.

Is this what the ANC Women's League has reduced itself to? Electioneering? Is this what the league is good for?

What has the league done for us women this year? Let me tell you. Its efforts were described in four press releases:

The league was "appalled" by the "serving of sushi on women's bodies" and planned "to arrange a meeting with ZAR owner Kenneth Kunene to clarify his position on the practice of serving sushi on the bodies of half-naked women".
It "welcomed" the "World Health Organisation's Global Status Report on alcohol and health, which shows that alcohol is the major contributor to death and social ills".
Edna Molewa, the league's national spokesman, said: "We hope that this report will help raise awareness about the adverse effects of alcohol abuse, particularly how alcohol affects women and children.

"We welcome the report because it assists us and serves as an important reference tool to highlight the plight of women and how alcohol abuse poses a danger to their lives and children."

It "condemned" the "fatal attacks on women by obsessive and jealous former partners".
"In one incident, Ms Liesel Badenhorst's head was smashed against the rim of her bath, cracking it, and she was left to die next to her 11-month-old daughter.

"In another similar heartless incident of gender violence, Andrea Venter, who was an accountant, was stabbed to death by her obsessed former lover after obtaining a protection order against him and moving to Johannesburg to escape his violence and abuse."

What is the league going to do about this?

It will be "engaging" with the various parliamentary committees dealing with gender issues and the structures dealing with women's issues "to look at strengthening the system of protection orders and interdicts against perpetrators of gender violence to deal specifically with people with obsessive behaviour. They use everything in their power to not only instil a permanent sense of fear in defenceless women but also end up killing them, their children and family members".

It condemned the "corrective rape" incident and called for stringent measures and legislative amendments to curl "corrective rape". What will it do about this?
"The ANCWL will be making an appeal to the relevant gender structures and parliament to look at strengthening our legislative framework protecting women to criminalise corrective rape as a hate crime."

Sigh ... This is what the ruling party's women's league did this year or is doing for women.

This is what the legacy of Charlotte Maxeke, Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi and Dorothy Nyembe has been reduced to - a silent (except during elections), out of touch, detached, unconcerned, inactive non-movement.