Nokuthula Nqaba, Secretary-General of the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL), has urged the ANC to reaffirm its commitment to the 60-40 gender parity principle. She made this call during her address at the Albertina Sisulu Memorial Lecture in Soweto last night. The ANC hosted a series of events to honor the life and legacy of this struggle stalwart.
Albertina Sisulu was born on October 21, 1918. She was the only woman invited to the formation of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in 1944 and participated in the 1956 Anti-Pass March at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
In her honor, the Women’s League emphasizes the importance of women demanding their rights in society.
Nqaba has also called on women in the organisation to support each other for leadership positions. She says they are tired of campaigning and only to be ignored when it is time for deployment.
Nqaba says, “If you look in terms of those that came out as voters in numbers it is women, but again in the NA (National Assembly) we are not in majority and in Cabinet we also fell short.”
“In other provinces where we had a majority, we had to educate and remind the ANC about its own principle of 60-40. It is high time that as we move forward in 2026, the bioscope of going up and down and not sleeping, working for men councillors…,” she adds.
