SASCO Statement on the Sexist utterances by Malema is a step in the Right Direction

By Luzuko Buku, SASCO Chair, Western Region


The context behind the Statement issued by the South African Students Congress( SASCO) in relation to the Equality Court ruling on the President of the ANC Youth League, Cde Julius Malema must be clearly understood. The statement demonstrates maturity in that SASCO is able to move beyond narrow electoral politics which warrants that you defend anyone aligned to the ANC even if that person is wrong. These embarrassing utterances by Malema did indeed show “a disdain to women and their continued oppression under a patriarchal capitalist system.”

It is one of the primary tasks of SASCO to protect the rights and dignity of women whenever they are under attack and by whomever attacks them. This is so because, our programme, the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) recognises women, particularly African women as the most oppressed group in society in that triple oppressed. They are oppressed first based on their race, secondly based on their class and thirdly based on their gender. Our organisation champions struggles of the oppressed and vulnerable and this was just but the right way to go in relation to this case of our comrade Malema.

Comrade Malema should have been reprimanded exactly the same time he made the utterance at a SASCO gathering and as an organisation we should have made our stance clear even in relation to what outcomes do we want in the Equality Court Case. We can’t leave gender struggles to be led by sectoral organisations such as the Sonke Gender Justice Network. Gender is one of the three contradictions which the National Democratic Revolution seeks to resolve and as a Marxist –Leninist student organisation we clearly understand that both the gender contradiction and the national contradiction are borne out of the class contradiction.

We should make it clear that our ‘delight’ and joy as a result of the court ruling is a matter of principle and is not in anyway related to conferences of the ANC Youth League and the ANC and views of Malema in relation to these. Our detractors who paint us with that brush just want to reduce us to those politics and we must resist being dragged to that direction. No one has the right to utter sexist statements, even if he or she is the president of the ANC Youth League or the ANC, SACP, YCL, COSATU or even SASCO for that matter.

This says nothing about our relationship as the Progressive Youth Alliance. Our relationship was never meant to be based on dogma and docility but on self and constructive criticism. In addition our relationship is meant to be complementary and contradictory. Let’s therefore celebrate and defend African women against any form of discrimination, whether meted by someone within our ranks. Lets expose and isolate all those who are male chauvinist but hide behind the blanked of progressive politics.

For Free Education and Socialism

Luzuko Buku

SASCO Western Region

Chaiperson