Mayor: there would be peace if women ruled

THE Mopani mayor, Nkankareng Rakgoale, said the world would be at peace if it was led by women, because women were not as violent as men.

Speaking at a Women’s Month celebration in Giyani recently, the mayor said there were only 21 female heads of state out of the 192 United Nations member states.

“These 21 female heads of state were either elected, appointed or succeeded, none of them came to power through a coup,” she said, adding that this showed how peaceful the world would be if governed by women.

According to Rakgoale, women were pacifists and preferred peaceful settlements, rather than going to war.

“None of the countries that are currently at war would be fighting if they were led by women,” she said, calling for the emancipation of women in all government spheres, including parliament.

She said Rwanda had the highest number of female parliamentarians, with 63.8% female representation in parliament.

“Of all the parliaments in the world, women only constitute 21,8%,” she said, adding that South Africa was behind in terms of women representations, saying men constituted 60% in parliament.

“President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet consists of 15 female ministers and the rest of the ministers and members of parliament, including the president and deputy president, are men,” she said.

Nevertheless, she said, in Limpopo, women had better representation, saying the province’s executive council was made up of 60% women and 40% men. “In Limpopo, the executive council consists of six female MECs and four male MECs, including the premier.”

Kgoshigadi Mokgadi Sekgopo, who was also at the event, said women had a huge responsibility in society, and urged parents to groom their daughters to become leaders.

“As a parents, you must be involved in anything that your child does so you’re able to guide them on issues such as boyfriends and many other stages that our children go through,” she said.