South African Female Presidential Leadership and the inevitability of a donga as final destination? Reading the Deuteronomistic Athaliah the &lt;i&gt;bosadi&lt;/i&gt; way

V Ndikhokele N Mtshiselwa,Madipoane Masenya

doi:10.4102/ve.v37i2.1583

South African Female Presidential Leadership and the inevitability of a donga as final destination? Reading the Deuteronomistic Athaliah the <i>bosadi</i> way

V Ndikhokele N Mtshiselwa, Madipoane Masenya

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v37i2.1583

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Journal: Verbum et Ecclesia	Publication Date: Jul 8, 2016
Citations: 6	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of South Africa

Abstract

In the 104 years of the existence of the African National Congress, many a black person in Sout Africa has been exclusively led by men. Also, 24 years into a democracy, patriarchy continues to raise its ugly head in our parliament, among other institutions. Disturbingly, against the call for a female presidential leadership Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the National Union of Mineworkers, together with the ANC leadership in the Gauteng province, are lobbying for a male presidential candidate namely, Cyril Ramaphosa. In order to engage the issue of patriarchy in the South African politics, the Sepedi/Northern Sotho proverb tsa etwa ke ye tshadi pele, di wela ka leope [once they are led by a female one, that is, a cow, they will fall into a donga] will be employed as a hermeneutical tool to re-read the Deuteronomistic Athaliah the bosadi way. the interest of the preceding way lies at seeking justice for the transformation of many an African women's life in present day South Africa. Inthe end, this article will investigate whether the tenor of the Northern Sotho/Sepedi proverb that once they (cattle [read: South Africans]) are led by a female one, they are sure to fall into a donga.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: Drawing from the insight in the fields of the Old Testament, gender and social sciences studies as well as Indigenous Knowledge Systems (with particular focus on an African proverb), this article addresses the topic of the South African Female Presidential Leadership and the Deuteronomistic Athaliah the bosadi way.Keywords: Deuteronomistic Athaliah; Patriarchy; Woman president; South Africa; Sepedi proverb; bosadi

Highlights

The context from which we read the text of 2 Kings 11–12 about the Deuteronomistic Athaliah is an African context in South Africa
The preceding context demands that we re-read the character of Athaliah, the foreign queen mother in 2 Kings 11–12 informed by the experiences of African women in South Africa
South Africa is a democratic state, one with the most exciting constitution in the world, the women, whose experiences will inform our reading of the biblical text in question, are basically still steeped within the values and norms of the patriarchal African culture as well as the patriarchal cultures imported from the colonialists and the apartheid regime

Summary

Introduction

The context from which we read the text of 2 Kings 11–12 about the Deuteronomistic Athaliah is an African context in South Africa. Regarding the issue of power dynamics in the story of Athaliah, the text raises ideas that have not been drawn to the light in the debate about the South African female presidential leadership.

Results

Conclusion