ANC Women's League intensify calls for a female president

WITH decades of leadership in the trenches, the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) is turning up the heat, boldly calling for South Africa's next president to be a woman.

- KAMOGELO MOICHELA

The league's National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Boitumelo Moiloa told the crowd at the memorial lecture, in honour of the late ANC stalwart Gertrude Shope, in Pretoria over the weekend, that they were searching for a female leader.

South Africa nearly had a female president when Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma lost the ANC leadership race to President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2017-her defeat effectively ended that possibility.

Another missed opportunity arose in 2008 following former President Thabo Mbeki's resignation, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was bypassed by Parliament amid political controversy tied to her husband's role in prosecuting Jacob Zuma.

She later became the first female Deputy President, served as Executive Director of UN Women (2013-2021) and continued to champion gender equality globally.