Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 2 - Chapter 4 Page 11

The Speaker of the National Assembly An equally contentious question was the election of the Speaker for the National Assembly. Although the ANC had long accepted the principle of gender equality without qualification, actual practice still lagged far behind principle. Among my staff as ANC President, there were three women, all strong, independent, well informed and outspoken. They brooked no form of chauvinism either from me or from my comrades. No wonder they came to be known as the three witches. They were Barbara Masekela, who later became our Ambassador to France, Jessie Duarte, now Ambassador to Mozambique, and Frene Ginwala. We had numerous discussions on a wide variety of issues. All of them were impressive and hard working and they helped to purge my system of all contempt for women. I earmarked Frene for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly. There was dead silence from my comrades when I first shared the secret with them. 50