REMEMBER THE DAYS when the ultimate scandal for an American president was having the audacity to wear a tan-coloured suit.

And now Donald Trump turns up twelve minute late to meet the Queen, with an unbuttoned suit and no one bats an eyelid.

Chris Jackson Chris Jackson

*Le sigh*

We miss Barack Obama and his scandal-free Presidency more and more with the passing of time…

Brian Inganga Brian Inganga

…and seeing pics of him like this.

But we especially miss him when he speaks from the heart about issues that are close to our own. This week Obama is visiting South Africa and his father’s home country of Kenya to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.

Yesterday, at a Town Hall in Johannesburg, South Africa, Obama explained why he wants women to participate more in involved in public life.

‘Women in particular, by the way, I want you to get more involved, because men have been getting on my nerves lately.

Same.

I mean, every day I read the newspaper and I just think, ‘Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys? What’s wrong with us?’ I mean, we’re violent. We’re bullying. We’re…you know, just not handling our business.’

Obama didn’t specify any particular news story, but you could open any newspaper and find a myriad of stories about sexual harrassement/abuse  or breastfeeding debacles.

He finished his remarks on the subject by stating what should be bleeding obvious:

So I think empowering more women on the continent that, right away,  will lead to better policies.

Listening to and including the voices of women in the decision making processes of creating public policy should be common sense. Many try to argue that there is nothing stopping women from entering politics, but from birth women are taught to that they are ‘bossy’ or ‘shrill’ if they’re assertive, whereas men are taught that they are ‘strong leaders’ if they’re taking control.

Women are told that youth and beauty is the currency of power they hold, and are taught to be competitors for men’s affections. Men are taught that blustering confidence is their currency and are taught to compete for power in society.

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