Storey Morutoa

Masefele Rosalia "Storey" Morutoa (14 May 1939 – 7 July 2021) was a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2001 to 2019, serving the Gauteng constituency. She chaired the Joint Monitoring Committee on Women from 2004 to 2009 and the Joint Multi-Party Women's Caucus from 2014 to 2019. A veteran of the ANC, which she joined in 1965, Morutoa was active in the anti-apartheid movement in Soweto.

Storey Morutoa
Member of the National Assembly
In office
1 November 2001 – 7 May 2019
ConstituencyGauteng
Personal details
Born(1939-05-14)14 May 1939
Died7 July 2021(2021-07-07) (aged 82)
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Early life and activism

Morutoa was born on 14 May 1939.[1] She joined the ANC underground in 1965, while the party was still banned by the apartheid government, and in the 1980s was active in the Federation of South African Women and in civic organisations in Soweto.[2] After the ANC was unbanned, she rose through its ranks, serving as the executive of the party's branch, regional, and then provincial branches.[2] She was also a former member of the national executive committee of the ANC Women's League.[2][3]

Legislative career: 2001–2019

Morutoa was sworn into an ANC seat in the National Assembly on 1 November 2001, filling the casual vacancy created when Duma Nkosi left to become Mayor of Ekurhuleni.[4] She was elected to her first full term in the 2004 general election[1] and ultimately served continuously in her seat until the 2019 general election,[2] representing the Gauteng constituency.

JMC on Women: 2004–2009

From 2004 to 2009, she succeeded Lulu Xingwana as chair of Parliament's Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of the Quality of Life and Status of Women (JMC). She entered the JMC at a difficult time: former chair Pregs Govender, under whom the JMC had taken on an activist role, had resigned in mid-2002 under pressure from her party. Under Morutoa, the JMC was described as having "lost momentum" and as "practically dysfunctional";[5] the Mail & Guardian suspected that Morutoa retained the chairmanship "by keeping her head low".[6] The committee was dissolved and replaced by a portfolio committee after the 2009 general election.[6]

Women's Caucus: 2014–2019

After the 2014 general election, Morutoa was the MP who nominated Jacob Zuma for election to his second term as President of South Africa; she said that her motion was the will of "the African National Congress and millions of South Africans".[7] During the legislative term that followed, she chaired Parliament's Joint Multi-Party Women's Caucus.[8][3]

Under her leadership, the caucus made the legal status of sex work a priority issue.[9] Morutoa advocated strongly for the full decriminalisation of sex work, arguing that it was the only way to allow sex workers full access to the criminal justice system, had the potential to address South Africa's HIV/AIDS crisis, and was supported both by evidence and by sex workers themselves.[10] When the South African Law Reform Commission published a report which recommended against full decriminalisation, the women's caucus under Morutoa held a summit on sex workers at which stakeholders were invited to make submissions on the report and broader policy.[11][12]

Retirement and death

Morutoa left Parliament after the 2019 general election and died on 7 July 2021 from COVID-19.[13][2]

References
  1. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. "Masefele Rosalia Morutoa". People's Assembly. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  3. "Parliament mourns the passing of ANC veteran and former Member of Parliament, Ms Rosalia Morutoa". Parliament of South Africa. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  4. "The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations". Parliament of South Africa. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. Essays on the Evolution of the Post-Apartheid State: Legacies, Reforms and Prospects. Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. 1 October 2014. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-920655-87-7.
  6. "Fix the gender machine". The Mail & Guardian. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  7. Davis, Rebecca (21 May 2014). "The Fifth Parliament: New red overalls, same old president". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  8. "ANC announces committee chairs". News24. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  9. Smout, Jennifer (8 February 2021). "It's time for female MPs to screw their courage to the sticking-place". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  10. Herman, Paul (30 May 2017). "Legalising sex work the only option - Women's caucus". News24. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  11. Watson, Amanda (6 March 2018). "MP caucus takes submissions on sex work". The Citizen. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  12. Chabalala, Jeanette (9 February 2018). "Parliament's women's caucus to host sex work summit". News24. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  13. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=188322276595326
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