REFILWE MEKOA
While South Africa might be ready for a female president, the ANC isn’t.This is according to political analyst Theo Venter.
He said the country will only have a female leader once the ANC is prepared. Venter highlighted on Monday morning that opposition parties like the DA have already proved that they can be led by a woman. His analysis comes with only a day left before the country’s fifth democratic elections.
Venter said many political parties have strong female candidates that are capable of representing the country.
He emphasised his uncertainty whether the ANC will ever be ready to be ruled by a woman.
“There are a lot of developing countries that have had female leaders. For instance India and Sri Lanka, and there are numerous examples that females can do just as well as political leaders in complex developing situations,” he said.
Venter said a female leader can have a positive impact in many developing countries.
“Women are capable of feeling things differently than men. Men are very task orientated, sometimes they lose touch in assessing difficult situations as viewed by normal people, which females are able to,” said Venter.
According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), gender representation in political parties continues to show improvement with approximately 11 percent increase between the 1999 and 2009 general elections.
