We are done with waiting

By: Siki Dlanga*

April 2018, thousands of young South African women declared, to a world that did not know how much Mama Winnie meant to us, that “Winnie did not die, she multiplied.” Black women lifted their fists for Winnie Mandela the same way that she had lifted her fist for Mandela’s release which eventually led to his presidency. 

This is once again our time as women to lift our fists for something that counts. We need a woman president, now. 

The current message to black women is clear. We are told that we must wait. Our best shot, we are being told, is to aim for a deputy position as confirmed by articles, a few weeks ago that mentioned Her Excellency, our former deputy president, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, that she was being lobbied for a possible second return as deputy. Our president thought a black woman, Judge Mandisa Maya, can wait for another time. There have been several men, young and old, who have echoed similar sentiments because to them, it is part of the rhythm of the course of history to make a black woman wait. 

Apart from the absolutely necessity and rightness of it, you would think that having a black woman judge would be a-nice-to-have in this country, a nice add-on to the whistles and bells of our already decorated democracy. Judge Mandisa Maya’s outstanding resume, achievements and compelling vision were not enough for him.

White organisations such as the Helen Suzman Foundation could not be found anywhere near in support of a black woman judge regardless of how impressive her achievements. She had even written a ground-breaking judgement where she defended Afrikaans in isiXhosa but that did not matter. However hard she worked or proved herself as the best among men, she is a black woman and she must wait we were told. It is not only the president who thinks “next time” she can be recommended as a deputy, but several influencers have done the same. Some have written books in praise of their mother’s resilience as women who rejected the barriers that were thrown at them. When it matters, they still believe that Maya must be happy with being appointed as deputy and wait for next time. It boggles my mind. Waiting, I suppose, is the perpetual reality of a black woman’s life in this country, to be denied opportunity is part of the rhythm of life here. She waits for recognition. She waits to be selected. She waits on men until they have eaten their fill. She waits until men find her worthy.

Well, I have news for everyone who believes we must wait; we are done with waiting. These men may see it as an add on for a woman to assume a significant position in this country but for us, our very lives are at stake. Black women are fighting for their lives. It is us who suffer the blows of poverty and violence more than anyone else. It is time that we should turn the hashtag #AMINEXT to #WeAreNextToLead.

“We are the ones we have been waiting for” is how June Jordan ends her Poem for South African Women which she recited at the UN in 1978. It was written for us South African women.

To remember Mama Winnie now, is to remember the injustice of countless hardworking, brilliant black women in this country who are continually side-lined while others take credit for their work. Women such as Dyna Mgqibisa wife of Enoch Sontonga, Nokutela Mdima-Dube, first wife of John Langalibalele Dube, were a few women who were violently written out of history while their work was credited to others. When South African young women said “Winnie did not die, she multiplied” that is what they meant. Even the grave is not sufficient to permanently constrain or stop the revelation of who we are or our work. Dr Athambile Masola and Dr Xolisa Guzula have written a series for children titled Iimbokodo, which celebrates South Africa’s hidden historical women. Asanda Sizani has spared nothing to bring Nokutela Mdima-Dube to life. There is much more uncovering of black women’s stories. These women are becoming visible because we are coming to recognise our own value. I pray that black women in this country will wake up to the treasure that is us. We can no longer hand our lives over to those who think our issues can wait. Winnie spent her life campaigning for Mandela’s freedom as a proxy for our freedom. Arise women of our South Africa, there is no saviour that will come to deliver a good government to us, our country lies in ashes. No one is going to back a woman president if we do not. If the newspapers are anything to go by, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has put her hand up to challenge President Ramaphosa. He has had his thuma mina time, we do not owe him a second term any more than he felt that he does not owe us a woman Chief Justice.

It is now that we need a leader who knows we cannot afford to watch this country go up in flames after generations of fighting for freedom; a woman ready, determined, and capable of not letting that happen one more day. We lost an opportunity with Mama Winnie, we lost an opportunity with Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, we are running out of time. If you are singer, sing, if you are a painter paint, whatever you can do, let us not be told to wait for a woman president when women in this country continue to suffer. There are more of us in this country than those who wish to withhold our progress. It is time for a woman leader. History tells so, the times in which we live tell us so, the cries of the people tell us so. It is time for a woman, and she has a name: Lindiwe Sisulu. In the words of June Jordan in the poem she wrote for us South African women, “Will you join this standing up?

“And who will join this standing up
and the ones who stood without sweet company
will sing and sing
back into the mountains and
if necessary
even under the sea

we are the ones we have been waiting for”

*Siki Dlanga is a politics and media analyst, poet and gender activists.