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Helen Zille talks at the monthly general meeting of the International Women's Club (IWC) about her challenges as the first lady of Cape Town.
She is a dazzling appearance in red. Red tailored suit, short blond hair à la Hillary Clinton, and matching red lipstick; every inch of her displays the tough politician she has to be in the daily power struggle of her life in politics, without loosing the charm of the feminine. Her radiating smile fills the Baxter Theater with a glorious shine. Her walk tells of dignity and respect, of power, knowledge and pride. She is a woman of charisma, a leader and lioness, one look at her is more telling than a thousand words could be.
When she opens her mouth, her deep, calm, strong voice reassures the audience of the picture that her body language and sense of style already evoked in everybody’s mind, and one can well imagine that this woman is not only persuasive, but can easily debate with such conviction and persistence that even Mr. Ramaphosa of the African National Congress (ANC) can do nothing but agree.
Before Helen Zille spoke to the women of the IWC Cape Town, on Thursday, August the 2nd, her bodyguards checked every inch of the theater. After all, Mrs. Zille is a very important woman, the mayor of Cape Town, and nothing can be left to chance.
Mrs. Zille has a very busy schedule these days; her driver rushes her over to the Baxter Theater after an unplanned emergency parliament session due to floods in the Western Cape. From head to toe a busy politician she still polishes her speech in the car, a speech that she herself describes as unusual. Unusual, she says, because she does not like to talk about herself. She is an incredibly hard-working, bright and factual woman. She certainly has learned how to fight for what she believes in, but today she has come not only to talk about her policies, not only about the great challenges facing the city of Cape Town, not only about floor crossing and other acrobatic political tricks that could catapult her out of her office before the end of next year. She has come to talk to the assembled women from around the globe, foremost about her challenges as the First Lady of Cape Town. Her sense of humor becomes apparent when she quotes her husband as saying “That’s no lady, that’s my wife” in response to the title given to her by the IWC.
Mrs. Zille has done her homework when it comes to public speaking. She starts off by making the audience laugh and ease up. What could work better than speaking about sports related issues? Sport is a popular topic with possibly the strongest unifying potential in the country. She humorously describes her experienc in an odorous dressing room with intoxicated players, still staggering with joy after a successful game when a cheeky sportsman came up to her and asked: “Are you the mayor? Man, you look just like a housewife!” The response of her husband was prompt: “I wish!”
Between women, we can joke about our image, the interconnection and eclipse of traditional role expectations, and what we hope for each other and ourselves today. Although the career woman is more prevalent in the minds of young girls nowadays, many of them will fail at the near impossible task of uniting the world of a mother and that of a career woman, if they do not hit their head against the notorious glass ceiling.
Helen Zille has managed to be an outstandingly successful career woman without renouncing her right to a family. She is the First Lady of 2 500km² of land, about 3.25 million inhabitants and an 18 billion Rand (South African currency) budget. 21 000 staff members work for her, her day is organized by no less than three secretaries, and she does not usually go anywhere without her driver and bodyguards.
What has transformed the young Helen into such a powerful woman? Or better, how did young Helen transform herself into her intelligent, strong and successful contemporary being? The answer is simple: Step by step, her working experiences prepared her for the demanding job of the DA mayor of Cape Town, they added up to a pool of knowledge that she can now draw from. With a bright smile, she states that being the mayor is not even the most difficult job she ever had. As unbelievable as it may sound to the assembled women of the IWC, Mrs. Zille affirms, that she now feels much more relaxed, more invigorated and inspired than prior to taking on this responsibility. This job, according to her, is more enjoyable but also much more challenging than any other hurdle she has risen above before.
What is more, Mrs. Zille has accomplished a lot in her life: After completing her BA in Witwatersrand she worked as a secretary, then as an aspiring political journalist for the Rand Daily Mail, which introduced her to the political sphere and influenced her decision to devote her life to political activism. She then founded a family, and became the senior partner for Zille Shandler Associates, a public policy consultancy, before she was employed by the University of Cape Town as the Director of Public Affairs and Communication. Following this job, she began working in the provincial government, became the Minister of Education, then the leader of the opposition. She finally moved up into the national government and emerged as the mayor of Cape Town.
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Writer Profile
Marcia C. Schenck
I am a junior studying International Relations, History, and African Studies in the United States, Mount Holyoke College. I was born and raised in Germany and South Africa.
I love learning more about South Africa. I volunteered at a local NGO and interned with the Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation last summer. This summer I spent in Geneva at the International Labor Organization. I am passionate about travelling, reading, and writing.
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