Outcry at Xingwana's Afrikaner comments
2013-02-27 08:54
Johannesburg - Minister of Women, Children and People with
Disabilities Lulu Xingwana "abused her office" and does not reflect
honour or dignity in her position, the Afrikanerbond said on Wednesday.
"This minister has proven beyond any doubt that she is
not fit to hold office in a constitutional democracy," Afrikanerbond
secretary Jan Bosman claimed.
This comes after Xingwana told the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation that young Afrikaner men were brought up in a way where they
believed they owned women and children.
Calvinist religion
"Young Afrikaner men are brought up in the Calvinist
religion believing that they own a woman, they own a child, they own everything
and therefore they can take that life because they own it," she said.
"We also have cultural differences as well in our own
communities where we have women who are forced into marriage and we are dealing
with all those issues."
Xingwana was interviewed on the arrest of paralympian Oscar
Pistorius on 14 February in connection with the shooting of his law graduate
girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
In the ABC report, which aired on Monday, the focus was on
how Pistorius's case highlighted gun violence in South Africa.
"I would ask him to tell the truth. I would ask him to
respect women," Xingwana said.
"I would ask him to get rid of all his guns. Because I
believe if he did not have guns in his home, Reeva Steenkamp would be alive
today."
Bosman said Xingwana's statements were an "extreme
verbal attack on the integrity of Afrikaners".
"It is unwarranted, uncalled for and without any substance.
At the very least the minister owes Afrikaners, men, women and children, an
apology without any reservations," Bosman said.
"We can only deduce that she chose to attack Afrikaners
to create a smokescreen for her total lack of any programme of action whilst
[minister] and to deflect from the serious allegations of corruption and
mismanagement in her department and her failure to provide a report with
details about these allegations to Parliament."
Bosman said the statement by Xingwana was in direct conflict
with the oath she took when she was sworn in as minister, that she had
"abused her office" and did not reflect honour or dignity in her
position.
The Afrikanerbond would take up the matter with the office
of President Jacob Zuma for the president to "act against one of the most
incompetent ministers in his Cabinet", Bosman added.
Equality Court complaint
Meanwhile, Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum said on Tuesday
it was considering bringing a complaint before the Equality Court against
Xingwana.
"Xingwana's remarks boil down to a blatant
contravention of various sections of the Promotion of Equality and the
Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act," spokesperson Ernst Roets said.
"She has discriminated on the basis of race, faith and
gender. On top of that, she clearly lacks the necessary expertise to talk
knowledgably on the topic."
Roets said AfriForum had submitted the matter to its legal
team.
- See the full ABC report.
- SAPA
