Volume: Volume 13(2) - 2009

Article type: Editorial

This issue of LDD has a special focus on women. It comes at an appropriate time. The position of women in African and South African society has been highlighted by the controversy surrounding disclosures of illegitimate children fathered by President Jacob Zuma. Indeed, the President's marriage to a third wife also sparked criticism among sections of the population where monogamy is the norm.

In itself, such criticism is easily answered: cultural differences must be accepted in the spirit of embracing our national diversity. Aptly, this spirit was recalled in the celebration of Nelson Mandela's legacy 20 years after his release from Victor Verster Prison in February 1990. But the acrimony of the debate surrounding Zuma shows that Mandela's vision is still far from becoming a reality.

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