Rustenburg - Africans have never been beggars, Women Forward leader Nana Ngobese said on Saturday.
"We have never been beggars. We have always done things for ourselves. We have always grown our own vegetables, we have never gone to the shops to buy carrots, beetroot. Even myself used to have my own garden," she said at the Reakgona Disability Centre in Tlhabane ahead of the party's manifesto launch in Rustenburg on Saturday.
The centre produces steelworks and bricks, among other things.
She said the school curriculum should empower pupils to take responsibility for building their own communities.
Women Forward has also called for rapists to be castrated. "I actually think rapists should be executed, but castration is the second best. Rape is the worst of all crime and at the moment the law's response is pitiful. Being raped is a lifelong trauma that damages every part of your life in more ways than you can imagine," she said.
Video: Molaole Montsho/African News Agency (ANA)
Such criminals had given up their human rights by totally disregarding the human rights of others. "The rapist should not get to go free, they are still a danger. Not everyone rapes so they can achieve orgasm. If that is all they are after, porn and masturbation or normal dating will suffice," Ngobese said.
The Women Forward party is contesting the May 8 general elections.
African News Agency/ANA
