As women’s Month draws to a close, two stories prove that we still have a long road ahead, when it comes to a woman’s right not to be abused.
The first is the diplomatic immunity given to Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe.
IMMUNE: Grace Mugabe to escape action
Having left the country with her husband, she will now never see the inside of a South African court for allegedly assaulting a young woman in a Joburg hotel.
This is a female African leader, severely beating another woman and then using her status to avoid justice. It turns out she may in fact be used to fleeing justice.
In 2009, a photographer accused her of assaulting him on the streets of Hong Kong while he was snapping her on a shopping spree.
At that time, she also relied on diplomatic immunity and left the country, before her accuser had even laid any charges.
I don’t think our Minister of International Relations had much of a choice, considering how chummy-chummy her husband and our president are.
Other parts of the story that are now emerging is that Grace Mugabe allegedly beat people indiscriminately on the day, including female staff of the hotel.
And while trying to escape her wrath, her one son apparently knocked over a pregnant woman, who miscarried as a result.
Mugabe has claimed that she was merely defending herself, but then why not go to court and be exonerated?
Her actions leave us with only one logical conclusion - that she is a short-tempered woman with no dignity or respect for the law and who certainly is no advocate for women’s rights. And also that she is THE most inappropriately named news maker. More like DisGrace or Grace-less Mugabe!
Last week I wrote about my disgust at the fact that the Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mduduzi Manana had admitted to assaulting a woman in a nightclub in Joburg.
To me it was especially serious during Women’s Month, but also considering that this is one of the men to whom we entrust our children’s minds.
He has eventually buckled under all the criticism and resigned, followed by a lengthy video in which he apologises again for his actions.
There’s been a lot of speculation about the motives for his resignation.
But the fact is, he could’ve chosen to cling to power in the face of the pressure the way some of his colleagues do, most notably his boss.
Instead he chose to give up his job and promise to get help to ensure it never happens again.
I want to take his words at face value, because I think what he did was important and sets an excellent example to his colleagues.
People make mistakes and when they admit it and face the consequences willingly, then it’s our job to stop punishing them for the rest of their lives.
He still has a court case pending and there’s talk of disciplinary action, which I reckon are more than enough.
But this raises a very important question about Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who came to Manana’s defence after the incident.
AND NOW? Dlamini defended Manana at time
Now that he has acknowledged that there can be no excuse for his actions, how does the minister explain the poor excuses that she made?
If Manana’s position was untenable under the circumstances, then it applies tenfold to Dlamini, who is not only the Minister of Social Development, but also the president of the ANC Women’s League.
Manana has a chance at redemption, but how can we ever again trust the person whose job is social cohesion and advancing women’s rights?