Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Overview

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka born Claremont, Durban, South Africa November 3, 1955. First president of Natal Organization of Women, 1983. Member of Parliament, 1994-2008. First woman to serve as deputy president of South Africa, 2005-08. As leader of South African Development Committee, observed Zimbabwe election, 2005. Established Umlambo Foundation to support impoverished schools, 2008. Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women), 2013.

Quotations

“[E]mpowering women empowers humanity.” (UN Women, May 13, 2014)

“[W]e have a degree of crisis of leadership in our world. . . When you leave a little bit more than half the citizens in any country in a level of subjugation, you actually create inequalities and you rob that nation of the energy and the contribution of those people just because of their gender.” (Winchester International Symposium, March 22, 2013)

"Rape has become, for instance, one of the weapons in war situations that is used specifically against women, with impunity. That tells you there are deep-rooted traditional attitudes towards women.” (The Guardian, July 30, 2013; photo sahistory.org)