By Staff Writer

Racism must not become a "vague term of abuse used against an opponent when losing an argument", Premier Helen Zille said on Tuesday night.

Delivering the third Barry Streek Memorial Lecture to members of the Cape Town Press Club, Zille said she had discussed "the issue of the abuse of race in political discourse in South Africa" with President Jacob Zuma recently.

"I have had so much abuse poured on me I have almost become used to it. I have been called a 'racist little girl', an apartheid spy, a concubine whore, a lesbian who is having affairs with all male members of her cabinet - you name it," Zille said.
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