CAPE TOWN - In a ground-breaking attempt to inspire gender equality in politics, a newly established Plettenberg Bay political movement is fielding only female candidates to contest in all seven wards in the Bitou municipality for the upcoming local government elections.
The Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM) president Nokuzola Kolwapi said it was imperative that women take the lead in all aspects of society.
The women candidates will be contesting Ward 1 to Ward 7 in the Bitou municipality.
"As we know, our democracy says the majority should rule, and we understand that in South Africa, black people are a majority, and amongst that, women are a majority across any race. Then why should women not rule?
"Women are also the ones that are contributing mostly to the social aspects of the society, and contribute so much in the wellness of the society, starting from the upbringing of the children, and bringing morals and values to the future generations,” said Kolwapi.
"IPM attracted hope to women because they are the ones that are resource mobilisers in every aspect. When we were recruiting and bringing in leaders, we hoped for people who were already resilient in their societies, people that were already doing the work, self-sustaining or being resilient in the society, and we found that those people were women. Hence, we have the women-led candidates in every ward,” she said.
The IPM promised a people-centred government that would root out corruption in their manifesto launch recently.
Cape Times