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Leader of the Opposition Lynne Brown condemns DA MPP and Premier Zille

The Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Parliament, Lynne Brown has strongly condemned sexist comments made by DA MPP Kobus Visser in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament yesterday.

Ms Brown said:

"The shocking and inexcusable statements by Johan Visser confirm what we said when Premier Helen Zille appointed an all male cabinet. Premier Zille is the only woman in an all male executive in the provincial government. It is inexcusable that she now sees fit to condone reactionary prejudice against and defend the appalling statements of her colleagues.

"These statements are made all the more shocking by the context in which they are made - a society ravaged by the terrible abuse of women. This abuse takes countless forms, ranging from prejudice and exploitation to physical abuse, violence and rape. We are not talking here about some vague theory of women's rights. We speak of the day to day reality of the abuse of women - in the workplace, in our homes and in the community at large. We speak of the unacceptable and intolerable abuse of women in every conceivable form across the ethnic, religious and class divide.

"Backward and reactionary statements of the sort made by the DA MPP lend support to those in our society who believe that women are not equal human beings, that their place is in the kitchen and that they are objects for the satisfaction of the sexual needs of men. Why does Helen Zille not come out loudly in defence of women's rights? Why does she not condemn sexism and reactionary prejudice directed against women even when it comes from within her own ranks? Why does she not honour the Constitution and the laws of the land which call on all levels of government, institutions and society at large to ensure that everything is done to defend the rights of women and to grant them the opportunities which centuries of prejudice and exploitation have denied them?

"Premier Zille has an important responsibility to censure her colleague Johan Visser. It is not too late for her to also admit that she mistakenly appointed an all male cabinet and do the right thing by appointing some women to the executive. This would set the record straight. It would send a loud message that there is no place for discrimination and prejudice against women and that political leaders will take the lead by ensuring that women are appointed to the highest positions in the provincial government."