Women’s party gives it another go

● Women in politics are fronting for men.

This is according to the leader of Women Forward, a political party for women that is contesting elections for the second time.

Nana Ngobese-Nxumalo said SA needed a female-oriented party because women politicians were fronts for their male colleagues.

“Men make decisions and they use women. The agenda, in general, is very patriarchal,” Ngobese-Nxumalo said in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Her decision to contest the elections was prompted, she said, by a need to promote inclusivity and push the interests of women in parliament.

Women Forward appears last on the 48party ballot paper for the May 8 elections.

Its focus, she said, was on marginalised women.

Women Forward first contested elections in 2009, but the party won only just over 5,000 votes.

Ten years later, Ngobese-Nxumalo is trying again. This time she hopes to woo women, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community, and men who are aware of the plight of women.

“A women’s agenda is the only agenda we have,” she said.

When asked what had changed since her last effort in 2009, Ngobese-Nxumalo said during the era of Jacob Zuma, there was a lot of hostility towards women in politics.

She said the atmosphere had since changed and people had realised that only women could solve the issues facing them.

“If you include women in any decisionmaking process you will have a different outcome,” said Ngobese-Nxumalo.

The only other party led by a woman that is contesting the elections is Patricia de Lille’s GOOD party. This is despite 55% of registered voters being women.

“When you go to church, men dominate the space. In business, men dominate the space. That’s why Women Forward was created so that women will be represented in politics,” Ngobese-Nxumalo said.

“We are not going to blame other people. We are going to do things for ourselves,” she said.

According to its manifesto, Women Forward aims to reform the justice system so it can be friendlier to women who are victims of abuse.

It also promises to prioritise the problems of women’s unemployment.

Ngobese-Nxumalo is realistic about her prospects in the elections, saying she will be happy if her party wins two seats in the National Assembly.

If you include women … you will have a different outcome Nana Ngobese-Nxumalo Leader of Women Forward