At the ANC's national general council last week there was an uncomfortable moment of tension between secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and women's league president Bathabile Dlamini. Mantashe used the word "deviant" to describe a voting process that he saw as flawed. In response, Dlamini said: "I think that's very strong language that [male leaders] would not use [to define] their conferences. They fight a lot ... they also have groupings that support them, but they don't call that 'deviant behaviour'. They are brave enough to talk like that because it's women ... women are soft targets."It is tempting to see the women as David standing up to a gruff-voiced Goliath. In this context, Dlamini will win some cheers.Yet why did the women's league president remain silent when Collen Maine, the newly elected youth league president, launched a crude and sexist attack on artist Ntsiki Mazwai just over a month ago?Maine said: "If her dirty panties are loose she must not take that it is true for the women in the ANC ... Perhaps this greasy panty called Ntsiki needs to be reminded that historically [the] ANC has been on the forefront of the struggle to liberate women."story_article_left1It is true that Mazwai had herself suggested that women in the ANC are only decorative, but Maine's response - delivered in the context of the league's 71st birthday celebrations - warranted comment from the women's wing.Worse, the women's league has yet to condemn the conduct of a prominent provincial member of the youth league, Patrick Wisani, who is alleged to have sjambokked his girlfriend to death in Yeoville last month.It is clear the women's league has a major credibility problem at the moment, and its name is the ANC Youth League. For most political actors a problem like this would be a gift. The youth league has little power and almost no respect either within the ANC or in wider society. Challenging the rampant sexism in the youth league would be low-risk and yet it would have big pay-offs: most South Africans would welcome it. From a political strategy standpoint, it's a no-brainer.The fact that Dlamini and her colleagues are capable of identifying sexism, as they quickly did in Mantashe's case, means that something else is going on when they decide not to point it out. They have a problem of relevance and consistency.These fundamental issues are coming to the fore because of the succession debate. The women's league is rightly preoccupied with this matter, because of the prominence of gender in the race. Unfortunately, Dlamini and her colleagues seem to have waded into the fray without being organisationally or politically prepared to engage.There is enormous potential for the women's league to use this moment to change course and make itself institutionally relevant. Remarkably, for the first time in well over a decade, Dlamini and her comrades in the women's wing can look to another entity in the ruling party for some tips on how to rehabilitate their image and strengthen their effectiveness. That structure is the ANC's Gauteng leadership.Last week, the province participated in the general council proceedings in a manner that was unified, professional and thoughtful. The re-energised Gauteng is proof that it is possible for parts of the ANC to quickly and effectively change course. Dlamini and her deputy, Sisi Ntombela, should pay attention.mini_story_image_hright1Despite a generally dire organisational outlook for the party, Gauteng came out of the conference looking good - in the past year, it has been able to move past the bickering that dogged it for years. Prompted by the dip in its support at the polls last year, the party has worked on its weaknesses in the province. Provincial chairman Paul Mashatile has been able to play to his strengths: his knowledge of Gauteng was wasted in a national government run by a president who is unpopular in the nation's wealthiest province. Relieved of his cabinet duties, Mashatile has been able to stabilise infighting and focus on working with branch structures.Working alongside him, the studiously technocratic premier David Makhura has put together an increasingly effective team. The combination of the political and the technocratic - which are both required in managing a polity as complex as Gauteng - is clearly working.Like all the other provinces and structures, Gauteng is knee-deep in the succession debate: that is the nature of politics. Yet the province has reached out to its voters to ensure that it isn't seen purely as a vehicle for the interests of those seeking power.This has been achieved by the premier's outreach on e-tolls and it is evident in the responsiveness and media profile of his education and health MECs. The Gauteng leadership has been able to engage around the issues taxpayers and voters care about, rather than around party platforms.If it wants to emulate this turnaround, the women's league has its work cut out for it. Dlamini and Ntombela - who have worked together in their capacities as minister of social development and Free State MEC for social development, respectively - will have to play tough but fair. They need to reach out to women to address issues like jobs, state-supported childcare, education and violence. They will have to demonstrate how the party - and the women who hold key positions in it - are working to improve women's lives.story_article_left2A formidable array of ministries are controlled by women, including housing, science and technology, international relations, basic education and of course Dlamini's own portfolio.The ANC prides itself on its progressive gender politics. It is the ANC that introduced the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and the Domestic Violence Act - two laws that are crucial for advancing women's rights.The prominent participation of women in parliament and the cabinet is due to the party's insistence that women hold key positions in leadership.These historical decisions taken by the ANC are not enough, of course. To her credit, in her comments last week Dlamini was drawing attention to a major problem in South African political discourse. Women are often spoken to and addressed in reckless and disrespectful ways. Dlamini was making the point that the disjuncture between what the ANC says it wishes to do about sexism and what it does must be addressed. This is especially the case if the party wants to be led by a woman who is committed to gender equality. If the women's wing is going to fulfil its mandate of checking misogyny and speaking truth to power, it must get its house in order.Eighteen months ago, Gauteng was riven by factionalism. Many township residents saw the party as out of touch while suburban residents questioned its capacity to listen. Today it is disciplined and focused.The women's league national executive committee would do well to schedule an urgent meeting with the leadership of Gauteng. Dlamini and her comrades should put aside their lobbying tactics and focus - for a few hours at least - on listening and taking copious notes.Msimang writes and comments on South African politics. Follow her @sisonkemsimang..