Recently, South African President Jacob Zuma attended a meeting of world leaders at the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, for the World Economic Forum. There he was asked whether he treated his wives equally. "Yes, absolutely," he said laughing, "totally equally." Trying to quiet claims by women's rights groups that his cultural practices impinged upon the progress of women's rights in a country where women are frequently under attack, he said that this (his marriage to three women at the same time) did not detract from his ability to deal with political issues, and from his belief in women's equality.
Many Western leaders who sat and listened to Zuma, I am sure, where likely taken aback by his candour and charm. Some might even have been thinking he had the best of all possible worlds. That he is representing South Africa quite ably thus far, is not in doubt. That he has taken the cause of women backwards, and their right to be emancipated, and to live without fear of attack or abuse, and driven those ideals and rights quite possibly into a far abyss from whence they shall cease to see the light of day, perhaps for decades -- is a fact of this country's quite perverse take on women's rights. I cannot possibly understand how a man who has three wives can affirm women's rights.
Having been born of a marriage where there was one father, and one mother -- one husband and one wife at a time -- I cannot possibly imagine what it is like to be one of Zuma's so far 19 children. This past weekend, South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper claimed in a front page report that Zuma recently fathered child number 20. The child was not fathered with one of his three wives, but with the daughter of his well-known friend and a principal organiser of this year's soccer World Cup, Irvin Khoza. Opposition leaders and AIDS awareness organizations alike are now breathing fire at the news of these latest shenanigans. At the time of marrying his fifth wife, there were already rumours that he would take another woman to wed. His actions certainly counter government efforts to curb the spread of HIV through safer practices.
I cannot fathom what it is like to be in a marriage where I have to share a man with other women, and it is legal and totally sanctioned by the prevailing culture. As alien as this situation is to me, I have to admit it fascinates me as much as the next person. People erroneously assume sometimes just because I am African, I am going to agree with Zuma's culture and the choices that he makes. South Africa has also been trying to understand the president's choices and I've seen several 'man-on-the-street' television interviews where a number of black people, women especially, vehemently condemn the president's decision to keep marrying. One woman said, "I don't allow it! I just cannot allow it!" Clearly there was something lost in translation, but if you let her indignation stand, you'd see that in her personal life she would not put up with it, and definitely sees the president as breaking with her particular moral code.
In a country where it is common for one man to have several women as sex partners, and the mothers of his children, certain cultural practices favor the man and allow him to pursue this arrangement without fear of censure. Many Zulus have said that at least their culture allows for openness and honesty, but that does not stop men from straying, even when they have a number of wives, and also girlfriends. The president himself was the subject of a lengthy court battle in 2006 when he was accused of raping a family friend. He was married at the time, yet still engaged in unprotected extra-marital sex escapades with other women. During the rape trial, which could have cost him the presidency, it came to light that the woman in question also happened to be HIV positive, and when pressed about this fact, he famously answered that he "had taken a shower after sex."
That his native province, Kwa-Zulu Natal, has the highest rate of HIV infection in the entire country is not a surprise. Some statistics show that the figures stand at 1 in every 3 people, a scary proposition any way you look at it. The disease has been driven by the three-pronged devil fork of poverty, violence and cultural norms. The subjugation of women as a cultural practice is the norm, and several studies on 'dry sex' as a driver of the disease have been done. Traditionally, a woman is not supposed to enjoy sex, and in the rural areas especially, where poverty, inequality and lack of education exist side by side, women do several sometimes dangerous things to maintain the status quo. Here, having a man, or allowing one to have his way, is clearly more important to survival than the need to be free or emancipated. Due to several factors including unemployment and the social emasculation of men, the disease spreads unchecked. If a man is rich enough, he can have more than one wife. This, as has been noted before, does not curtail his extra-marital activities, and therefore, the vicious cycle continues.
So out of a maelstrom of connected factors, what some see as an end to any positive gains women's rights activists might have achieved, could still be seen as a boon by some die-hard traditionalists. A man can easily find that his culture supports him and his wish to take several wives. Although Zuma did not attend much formal schooling and admits that much of his knowledge has been gleaned from observation and experience, as a self-taught man one might still expect him to be more careful, and to be more aware, as, however little education he was able to gain, he does not come off as stupid. He seems confident, calm and intelligent, and has a well-known personal charm. So how does a man who gains the presidency also become a polygamist? He explains this fact conversationally and respectfully, simply saying it is his culture. But is this enough? Is this all we should be allowed to understand from a man who is capable of setting the tone, and setting a great example to the youth, and to the men of the nation? Sure it's his culture, but even cultures are not static and they evolve.
It is also interesting to note how little his wives speak. We have not heard from any of them. The most vocal of all his wives is his ex-wife, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Mbeki cabinet, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Looking at her, one would think that he admires smart and independent women. She is now his Minister of Home Affairs, and is said to be sharp as a whip and very capable. His current three wives apparently each play a different role. The first wife was at his side when he was sworn in, whilst the other two looked on from the VIP seating. On a different date, the second wife flew with him to the US to meet the Obamas. Or was it the third? They sometimes just merge into one because so little is known about them.
That he presents the world with a spectacle each time he appears with a different or all of his wives at certain events, is a given. What does the world think? He doesn't seem to care and as he said, it is his cultural practice, and what he believes is that what's wrong is when any one person says that their cultural practices are superior to those of other people.
Agreeing with Zuma, then, might be mistaken for agreeing with a throwback to caveman times, when women were dragged by their hair into caves. Yet, it was not so long ago when women in the West could not vote. Even though Zuma's choices and culture could be seen as anachronistic, there are some things that still happen to women around the world that just should not still be happening. There are certain things that many women feel should be the right of every woman, but that are still to be realised. Women all over the world still earn three-quarters of every Rand or Dollar that a man makes. Women still cannot get an abortion in peace in many parts of the world, including the US -- in South Africa they can.
You won't get many huge protests for or against abortion in this country, it's seen more as a private matter. Gays and lesbians are still persecuted in South Africa, yet it is their constitutional right to marry and form partnerships that are legally bound and recognized. In only five states in the United States, gay marriage is recognized. In a sense, South Africa has a lot going for it, even if the president seems to want to be at odds with some basic tenets of a modern and healthy society. He and his supporters would probably say, "Well that's just according to you, and not us, what is modern and healthy." For at least some steps forward, there are some other steps backwards somewhere in the world, but South Africa cannot use this as a reason to excuse a president that is surely setting a bad example.