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Saturday Citizen reports that the ANC has come under sharp criticism from its ally the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) for excluding all gender and gay and lesbian rights protection clauses from the Traditional Courts Bill.
Cosatu has called for the Bill, which is presently before Parliament, to be halted while giving time for consultation on the omitted clauses that the federation demanded be reinstated. The federation said that as it stood, the Bill was fatally flawed and simply unconstitutional. Cosatu vowed to engage President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC, ministers of justice and of women, the speaker and chief whip in parliament to intervene as a matter of urgency. Ironically, the legislation was earlier rejected by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for not catering for the rights of women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and intersex community (LGBTQI). Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks, lashed out at ANC parliamentarians in the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services for being behind the move to remove the gender and human rights protection clause. The Bill initially contained crucial concessions, mainly suggested by civil society organisations during their interaction with the justice ministry, that protected the rights of women and LGBTQI people, including the right to opt out of traditional courts, and protection of the rights of both men and women who did not want a traditional court imposed upon them.
- Read more of this report by Eric Naki at SA Labour News
- Read Cosatu’s press statement in this regard at Cosatu News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page