Deputy Speaker, it is for the first time that I am speaking in the national Parliament, but I am used to speaking wherever I go to.
This statement is on gender discrimination. Our struggle for national liberation has evolved to appreciate the real and potential role of women, and their liberation from patriarchy was and still is an integral part of this new democracy. The ANC was formed and evolved as part of progressive forces across the globe in the fight against colonialism, racism, poverty, underdevelopment and gender oppression.
However, recent developments, particularly in the province of the Western Cape, are bent on reversing the gains that the women of our country have made over the past few years. Immediately after the April general elections, the DA-led provincial government appointed males only to the provincial cabinet. [Applause.]
The Speaker of the DA-led Cape Town City Council recently made comments to the effect that female councillors had to cover up so that their male colleagues were not led into temptation. This comment by the council Speaker and the appointment of an all-male provincial cabinet, in many respects, is evocative of the situation of previous eras of patriarchal relations of power. Thank you. [Time expired.]