The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) pro-woman stance has been questioned after it was revealed that the party fined MP Naledi Chirwa for not attending the impeachment vote of former Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe in parliament last month due to her infant daughter falling ill. She was instructed to buy two gazebos and issue a public apology.
Chirwa was one of the 11 EFF MPs who missed the vote, and Malema said heads would roll.
But the letter’s contents have angered party commander-in-chief, Julius Malema. On Wednesday night, Malema tweeted that the letter’s “inappropriate insinuations” had forced the party into a defensive stance. “In situations where we must choose between an individual and the organization, we must always prioritize the organization,” said Malema.
Chirwa, who has been an MP since 2019, said that she had taken her daughter to her mother to allow her to be “completely engaged in organisational work during this period and to form part of the collective that will usher an EFF government post 29 May 2024.” Chirwa reported her absence to the party, “not to the designated whip. “
South Africans have weighed in on the situation, with political rival Build One South Africa president Mmusi Maimaine opining that no woman should support the EFF. “No workplace should force mothers to cut short their maternity leave,” Maimane tweeted. Journalist Karyn Maughn said it was telling how the party had no problem with “one of its most hardworking female members having to publicly beg for forgiveness for being a mom.” Chirwa struck back at this, telling Maughn that the apology was for failing to send an apology through proper channels and not for being a mom.
This isn’t the first time the EFF has punished members for not acting in the best interest of the party. In May last year, they banned 439 members, including four MPs, from attending their 10th Anniversary Rally, held at the FNB Stadium on 29 July 2023.
Do you think the party was well within their rights to fine Chirwa? Let us know.
