By Mosa Cibi
Being a parent to a newborn is no easy task. The sleepless nights, early mornings, breast feeding (which can be difficult to balance at the best of times), changing diapers, the constant baby’s crying, which can be a major source of stress for the mother – the list goes on. Any new mother will tell you caring for the needs of their little ones in the early days of parenting is a full time job emotionally, mentally, physically and financially.
Sadly, it’s clear none of these mattered when EFF leader Julius Malema took the decision to demote the party’s MP Naledi Chirwa to the bottom of the list, this weeks after she forced to issue a public apology after she failed to attend a budget speech because she was looking after her sick baby.
“I am regretful for failing to attend parliament. My four-month-old daughter was sick and so I went home. My daughter is currently with my mother until post-election. This is to allow me the opportunity to be completely engaged in organisational work during this period and to form part of the collective that will usher [in] an EFF government post May 29,” Chirwa said in a disheartening apology note posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Later in the day, during one of the party’s recent door to door campaigns, Malema would blame Chirwa for “forcing the party into a defensive stance”. Most voters, many of whom are mothers themselves lashed out at Malema and the EFF for their lack of compassion, as they feared that this kind of injustice treatment meted out to the new mom could become a norm.
Well the results are in, and not surprisingly Chirwa was dropped a whopping 160 places down to 200 from 40 on the Parly candidate list. It’s unfortunate that the likes of EFF national spokesperson Leigh Ann Mathys remained silent, however to be fair, one can’t expect much from Mathys as she herself has been accused of untoward behavior towards other EFF female staffers – she is currently fighting a court case for assault on a fellow female party member Busisiwe Seabe in December 2023 at a voter registration event.
In a nutshell, it’s disappointing to have a party, vocal on the issues of GBV and gender equality, sorely lacking to practice what it preaches. Punishing a new mom for looking after her sick infant while your children have a wealth of support primarily through public taxes, and perhaps other illicit means doesn’t bode well before the eyes of the female voters.
Unfortunately, when one is surrounded by such dictatorship and chauvinism – yes men – nobody can tell you that when you’re wrong for treating women unjustly, because narcissistic dictators are always right even when they are wrong, more so when surrounded by like-minded people who encourage such barbarism and are clearly threatened by women. Vote wisely!
