“Misogyny has no place in the workplace,” says political economist

Political economist, Lebohang Pheko, says the party first, family second notion needs to be interrogated.

Pheko says misogyny should not be allowed to thrive in the workplace, especially under the guise of it being rules that allow men to excel, while hindering women.

She was responding to questions on whether the EFF’s work environment is conducive for women to thrive in following Julius Malema’s response to the controversy over Naledi Chirwa-Mpungose’s public apology for missing two parliamentary sessions without reporting to the party chief whip.

In her letter, the 31-year-old Member of Parliament attributed her absence from the sessions to her four-month-old child having fallen ill.

She, however, did not explain why she reported this to the EFF and not its chief whip as per the party’s policy.

In response to the letter, which has some South Africans up in arms, EFF leader Julius Malema gave a nonchalant reply, saying they will always prioritise the organisation over individuals.

“The letter’s inappropriate insinuations have forced our movement into a defensive stance, detracting our members from the immediate task of doing door-to-door because they must now defend their movement from rubbish,” he added.

Pheko says Malema’s response is concerning in a country that is still struggling to win the war on sexism.

Labour federation, SAFTU, on the other hand says it is inexcusable that Chirwa-Mpungose did not report to the rightful authority that she would not be attending.

The federation’s Trevor Shaku believes that social media has spun this issue and positioned it as being of abuse, while it is actually about the lack of respect for work protocol.

Public Apology on failure to attend Budget Speech in Parliament on the 21st of February 2024 🙏🏾🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/MGTIK5I7oq

— Mam’Mpungose 🇵🇸 (@NalediChirwa) March 4, 2024

YNews did reach out to Chirwa-Mpungose on whether she had cut short her maternity leave due to a hostile environment for women in politics.

Some social media users have, however, criticised Malema for what they say is yet another example of his dictatorship.

To be honest, this is disappointing. All I see is a toxic work environment- if a mother has to apologize for taking care of her 4 month old sick child, then give the baby to her mother so she can continue to work???
No, man.

— marang setshwaelo (@marangdream) March 5, 2024

That letter by Naledi Chirwa achieved more than the leadership bargained. On one hand it’s a public apology, while on the other hand it communicates what she is not saying. How?
… pic.twitter.com/sENgCjWw4s

— Zolani Simayi (@zsimayi) March 5, 2024

Naledi Chirwa must start looking for a job.

She’s not coming back to parliament even if the EFF gets enough numbers.

Malema is very cruel.pic.twitter.com/RcY9BChOQB

— Brandon (@Umalumewabantu) March 5, 2024

Last year, Malema gave over 210 party leaders the boot after they failed to secure funds to organise buses to transport supporters to fill the FNB Stadium for the party’s 10th anniversary.