On the eve of the G20 Summit the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) has turned up pressure, warning the “ANC-led GNU” to declare gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) a state of disaster by Friday or “die poppe sal dans” (the dolls will dance).
The warning was delivered by ANCWL secretary-general Nokuthula Nqaba, who said the wing of the ANC would not hesitate to bring the country to a standstill if the government of national unity fails to act.
“Our government knows us very well. There is no bigger women’s formation in South Africa and the continent that can make this country be on standstill.”
Nqaba urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to decide urgently: “The sooner the decision is made the better. Something must be done. We advise the state to be proactive rather than to provoke us and wait for the last minute because we will be left with no choice but to join hands with those who believe strongly that for them to get the attention they’ve been crying for, they need to disrupt the economy.”
The ANCWL will march to Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on Friday, one day before global heads of state convene for the G20 Leaders’ Summit at Nasrec Expo Centre on November 22 and 23. The timing directly challenges ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who last week said the party preferred the matter to be handled “internally” rather than during the high-profile summit.
The ultimatum comes after last week’s decision by the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) to reject a request by advocacy group Women For Change for GBVF to be declared a national disaster. The NDMC said the crisis does not meet the legal criteria in the Disaster Management Act, which defines a disaster as a sudden or progressive occurrence that overwhelms existing response mechanisms.
TimesLIVE
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