ANCWL disappointed by top six outcome
The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) says that "the ANC has failed the women of South Africa".
ANCWL president, Bathabile Dlamini, was speaking at the ANC national elective conference on Tuesday.
Her remarks come after South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president of the ANC.
Dlamini says the league has to express their disappointment in the ANC, because they are members of the ANC before they are members of the ANCWL.
She says the ANC has regressed on the issue of women and has allowed for the struggle for emancipation of women to continue.
Dlamini says the league is proud to have Jessie Duarte represent women in the top six - the only female elected into the new leadership structure.
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"Jessie made it to the top six because she ran with another woman. If she ran with a man she would have been thrown under the bus," Dlamini added.
Dlamini admitted that the fight for a woman president was never going to be easy but says that "this is an attack on the gains of women's struggles. This is a blow."
"The 50/50 representation remains relevant. If people of the stature of NDZ, Maite Nkoane-Mashabane and Lindiwe Sisulu cannot make it, it means there is a lot of work that needs to be done," Dlamini said.
But she refused to reveal whether the ANCWL voted for all the female candidates, including Sisulu, who did not enjoy the same support as Dlamini-Zuma from the league.
Dlamini further thanked Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for availing herself.
"She was insulted, reduced to being an ex-wife. But she knew it was not about her," Dlamini concluded.