War of Words Erupts Between ANCWL and Ntsiki Mazwai


By Oliver Ngwenya    09-Sep-2015 20:01 UTC+02:00
Nontsikelelo Mazwai seems to have stepped on big toes by her statements on social media. Image: Daily News

Nontsikelelo Mazwai seems to have stepped on big toes by her statements on social media.
Image: Daily News

The African National Congress Women’s League was greatly disappointed with statements made by the celebrity poet and singer Ntsiki Mazwai, who recently posted offensive comments on her twitter page about women as well as young women leading structures in the African National Congress.

On Tuesday Meokgo Matuba, who is the league’s secretary general, said she was concerned with recent comments by Ntsiki Mazwai, who referred to women supporting the African National Congress as idiots and said that “ANC merit happens in the bedroom”. “May we remind Ms Mazwai that the ANC Women’s League denotes its role on the objectives to defend and advance the rights of women‚ both inside and outside the ANC‚ against all forms of national‚ social and gender oppression and to ensure that women play a full role in the life of the organisation‚ in the people’s struggle and in national life,” said Matuba.

Matuba continued to say that as the league, they had hoped that Ntsiki, not only as a woman but as a poet and singer‚ would assist the women’s league in a more educational and constructive role. They had hoped she also would understand her role as a well-known person and surround herself with the amount of stance in being a role model for many women who may look up to her.

She went on to say they (the women’s league) should always take heed of the self-sacrifice in putting others before their very own views and beliefs and, at the very least, learn to understand the diversity of a democratic culture they lead, adding also that, “In your position‚ Ms Mazwai‚ one should have the knowledge that clearly stipulates how the majority of women, especially in the public sector, have met the threshold of leading strategic positions based on the merit of intellect and not through your so called ‘panties’.

Furthermore, the secretary general pointed out that Ntsiki’s statement paints an extremely worrying picture of how she thinks women can only achieve their goals, that is, by sleeping their way to the top. “This goes to show the lack of conscience and clarity Ntsiki possesses about the growth of women in South Africa”, she added.


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