It’s high time SA gets a female president, one that will keep it together

Whereas men are always considered to be the heads of households, it is our women that actually keep everything together.

They are the ones who give birth to us, nurture and guide us, ensure we go to school, teach us the importance of values and lift us up when we fall. Yet, despite this, they remain the silent downtrodden and abused members of our society. They come in all colours and sizes.

It is time their voices are heard. On the political front, we have very powerful women who have all the attributes of good leaders. They practice servant leadership. Yet they remain sidelined, or their contributions ignored.

Yes, some of them are deployed cadres: I am not talking of them as they form part of what is wrong with our country. I am referring to the women our government has ignored and who do not create a host of new problems for every solution.

I am referring to our silent and true women leaders who have empathy for the common people and who desire to see the inclusion of generational politics, where all people, regardless of race and religion, are judged on merit and not on nepotistic ideals.

We have women leaders who are more prepared to “man up” than many of our so-called male leaders. They are well-read, resolute, and hard-working. They don’t just talk – like some of those in parliament – they are prepared to put their money where their mouths are.

Whereas their abilities are frequently discounted in our male-dominated society, it must be noted that there are several countries where women presidents have overshadowed their male counterparts.

It will not be difficult for them to achieve this in South Africa. Unlike their male counterparts, they do not continually seek to lay blame to deflect or hide their own failures.

ALSO READ: We’ve had enough, it’s time for action, Mr President

They do not seek to divide the country with divisive and populist rhetoric as they understand the principle of unity. They do not seek to take up arms when they don’t get their way, although they are willing to do so when they feel their country or people are being threatened.

We need a strong woman president to fix what the cadre-deployed have broken and continue to break. She will know that stealing from the poor to feed their insatiable greed is evil.

We have brilliant and successful women academics, business leaders, farmers, and other professionals – black, white, Indian and coloured – who have a desire to see progress and development in our country. They, too, are perplexed at how the government regards national collapse as progress.

They understand the implications of large-scale looting of bank accounts, and the impact it has on them and their families. A woman president – and most of us don’t care what colour she is – will know that you feed your own family before you buy gourmet meals for the neighbours.

She will know that a true leader leads by example and with empathy for all members of her family. She will know that to be strong, the family must unite and not allow itself to be divided by greedy and selfish hangers-on who drive their agendas and narratives with lies and deceit.

A woman president will know that if a country can feed itself, farms must be protected and farming encouraged.

Those intent on destroying our food security systems must be brought to book and severely punished and not merely with a light tap on the knuckles.