Nozibele Makanda: The South African election landscape has made great strides in accommodating women and understanding that they are leaders in their own right. However, the process of elections is very rough and risky, and we are hoping something should be done to deal with the level of violence in the political space for the next elections.
At a dialogue under the theme “Women’s Dialogue on Gender Parity and Gender-Based Political Violence” hosted by the Electoral Commission.
We asked the attendees, how accommodating and safe is the political landscape of South Africa towards next year’s elections for women with political aspirations.
Kgomoco Maduane: I also think it is not safe, Numbers do not lie in terms of Gender-based Violence and we still have a long way to go in terms of being equal in the politic safe. I hope that change will be soon.Susan Tolmay: South Africa is generally relatively safe when it comes to elections, but increasingly becoming a highly contentious space, and we have to be guided in the political space. It is something that we have to keep a close eye on; otherwise, it is a safe space for women but a congested one.Ntombifuthi Gumbi: It is not safe for women in politics, especially now because of the violence we see happening in local spaces, for example, the way councillors are being shot or beaten up. Generally, it is not safe.
