Melanie Verwoerd

Melanie Verwoerd
Verwoerd in Africa
Born	Melanie Fourie (1967-04-18) 18 April 1967 (age 54)
Nationality	South African, Irish
Occupation	Political analyst, author, former politician and diplomat
Known for	African politics, social justice, gender equality, environmentalism
Children	2
Writing career
Notable works	When We Dance - a memoir (The Verwoerd Who Toyi-toyied) 21 at 21: The Coming of Age of a Nation Our Madiba: Stories and Reflections From Those Who Loved Him
Website	www.melanieverwoerd.co.za

Melanie Verwoerd (born Fourie) pronounced [fɛrvurt]^[stress?] (18 April 1967, in Pretoria) is a South African political analyst. She was previously a politician, ambassador, and the director of UNICEF Ireland.^[1]

Verwoerd was elected as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress (ANC) during the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, and re-elected in 1999. In 2001, she was appointed as the South African Ambassador to Ireland, a position she held until 2005. Between 2007 and 2011 she was the Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland.^[2][3] In 2007, Verwoerd was awarded with the Irish Tatler International Woman of the Year award.^[4]

Early life[]

Fourie was born in Pretoria, but grew up in Strand and Stellenbosch.^[5] She was brought up in she described as a middle-class, conservative and Calvinist Afrikaner household, with both her parents being academics.^[6] She is of Dutch descent.^[5] She described her parents as both being supporters of the ruling National Party.^[7] In 2005, she described her youth in Stellenbosh as growing in an almost all-white world, as the only black South Africans she saw were servants as under apartheid Stellenbosh was reserved for whites.^[8] She described her youth as: "Usual Afrikaner story, grew up in a very traditional Afrikaans household, white schools, white church-Dutch Reformed-white neighborhood".^[5] Fourie's ancestors took part in the Great Trek of 1835-1840 when a number of Boers as the Afrikaners called themselves at the time left the British Cape Colony to go inland to found the two Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal Republic).^[9] Like most Afrikaners, her family's rise to middle class status was only recent as she recalled: "My grandparents were farmers, working a subsistence farm about the size of a small Irish one; they had a few cows, pigs and vegetables. My grandmother was an enormously important part of my life. She was a typically strong, but tiny, Afrikaner woman -- absolutely fearless, very aware of her Trekker history in South Africa. I loved her to bits".^[9]

Fourie studied Calvinist theology at the University of Stellenbosch, being the only woman in the classroom of about 50 men as theology was traditionally considered to be a male subject in Afrikaner culture.^[5] The Dutch Reformed Church had traditionally played an inordinate role in Afrikaner culture, being described by the American journalist David Goodman as playing "...a crucial role in providing the theological and moral underpinnings of Afrikaner nationalism" as the Reformed Church used the Calvinist doctrine of predestination (with "the elect" predestined for heaven) to argue apartheid was just because the Afrikaners were "God's chosen people".^[10] Fourie's ambition as an young woman was to be a minister in the church, but she came to be disillusioned with it because of what she called its systematic sexism and racism as she taught in her university courses that God had ordinated inequality for humanity with women to be subservient to men and blacks subservient to whites.^[5] She admitted that her choice of a subject to major in at university was a quixotical one as the Dutch Reformed Church did not ordain women as ministers at the time, but stated she was gripped by a "deeply religious passion" at the time.^[5] As a young woman, she dated and later married Wilhelm Verwoerd, the grandson of former South African prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the "architect of apartheid" who as the Native Affairs Minister brought in the laws that established apartheid after the National Party won the 1948 election and served as prime minister from 1958 until his assassination in 1966.^[11] She met Verwoerd in 1985 in her theology class at the University of Stellenbosch.^[12]

Anti-apartheid activist[]

Change of position[]

Fourie started out as a supporter of apartheid, saying in her "Christian national education" she was brought up in to believe that apartheid was the natural system for South Africa.^[6] Her fiancée was a Rhodes scholar and she credited her time living in the Netherlands for three months prior to moving to Oxford in 1986 as changing her views.^[6] During this time she met several South African exiles who showed her books banned in South Africa, which she stated gave her a new perspective on her country.^[6] In particular, the 1978 book Biko by Donald Woods about Steven Biko - who died as a result of a beating given by the South African police - was described by her as having a major impact in giving her another perspective on apartheid.^[6] Biko was banned in South Africa at the time. Additionally, she was shown the trial transcripts of the Rivonia Trial, where Nelson Mandela and the other African National Congress (ANC) leaders were convicted of plotting to blow up the South African power grid.^[6] Verwoerd stated that she had brought up to believe that Mandela and the ANC leaders convicted at the Rivonia trial were "terrorists", but that reading his speeches at the trial changed her view of him.^[6] At the trial, Mandela admitted that he was guilty as charged, but that he only decided to use violence because non-violence had failed as the ANC had pursued non-violent resistance fruitlessly for decades and all that the South African government had done was to take away more and more rights from black South Africans like himself, leading him to the conclusion that violence was the "only way out". Verwoerd recalled about her debates with South African exiles: "They just hammered me for nights. And I tried every rational argument in the books about Buthelezi [a pro-apartheid Zulu chief], about everything. After a few nights, the arguments didn't work out very well. I came back and I was quite shattered. It was very hard. I felt that every authority figure I had ever known had been lying to me. I was angry, disillusioned. I must had been an extremely difficult student after that".^[13] In late 1986, she met a group of South African emigres in London who "...told us that I did not know of and I will be forever thankful for that".^[14] Fourie became involved with the National Union of South African Students and the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa.^[7] At IDASA conferences held in secret, she met several "banned people" who would appear briefly to speak at the conferences before disappearing again.^[15]

Her turn against apartheid exposed her to some risk because she remembered: "...if you opened your mouth too much, the Security Police, who had people in every single class, in every single hostel-fellow students - would start taking notes. But they were so stupid, it was always easy to know which ones they were".^[13] In December 1987, she married Verwoerd.^[16] Hendrik Verwoerd was one of South Africa's best known politicians, famous for declaring South Africa a republic on 31 May 1961 on the 49nd anniversary of the Treaty of Vereeniging, which many Afrikaners took as a symbolic revenge for the Boer War. Melanie Verwoerd stated about her surname: "If you speak to Afrikaans[-speaking] white people, as a rule, they would be very, very impressed that you're a Verwoerd. When you carry a surname like Verwoerd in South Africa, you always get a reaction".^[17] Verwoerd described her father-in-law, Wilhelm Verwoerd Sr. as a stern, overbearing patriarch, who expected obedience from his family and for whom the ANC was a "terrorist organisation".^[18]

In 1988, she studied for a Masters of Arts in Feminist Theology at Oxford, and returned to South Africa in 1990.^[7] On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC was released from prison, and Verwoerd from her apartment in Oxford watched his release live on television while exchanging a toast of champagne with her husband.^[19] Verwoerd stated her Master's thesis at Oxford was: "It's all about the gender issues in religion. Like Roman Catholicism, the Dutch Reformed Church [one of the supporting blocks of apartheid] was vehemently opposed to women clergy. I wanted to buck that. I was the only girl in a class of 50 men when I was doing my Masters, which was a strange experience for me as I had no brothers, only sisters, and had gone to an all-girls' school".^[9]

Joining the ANC[]

In 1990, after his release from prison, she met Mandela, the leader of the ANC who had imprisoned in 1964 under Prime Minister Verwoerd, which inspired her to join the ANC.^[20] Her husband had wanted to meet Mandela to apologize for his suffering in prison, leading to her meeting Mandela at a cocktail party.^[14] After meeting the ANC leader, Verwoerd told her husband "I'm sick and tired of that 'them and us' feeling", leading her to join the Stellenbosch chapter of the ANC.^[18] Verwoerd stated that the day after meeting Mandela she was driving home from work when she saw a group of black women line up leave the all white town of Stellenbosch just before 5: 00 pm when their work passes expired left her with the feeling that South Africa was too divided and something needed to be done to bridge the racial gap.^[21] Shortly afterwards, Verwoerd was promoted to the executive community of the Stellenbosh ANC chapter.^[18] Her decision to join the ANC made headlines in South African newspapers, which reported that "A Verwoerd is in the ANC".^[22] Her father-in-law and mother-in-law, both of whom were supporters of apartheid disowned her, expressing the shame that their son had married her, and as of 2004, she had not spoken to them for years.^[23] In a 2002 interview, Wilhelm Verwoerd Sr. called her "an upstart" and "violently feministic".^[24]

From late 1992 to April 1994, Verwoerd together with her husband spoke constantly at ANC rallies.^[25] The Irish journalist Catherine Cleary wrote in 2005: "In the early 1990s the Verwoerds, whose story has a film-script flavour, were the poster boy and girl of South Africa's journey from apartheid to democracy."^[8] Her decision to seek election as an ANC candidate in the 1994 elections was controversial as she was a mother and as the expectation within the Afrikaner culture is that women, especially mothers, should stay at home, not work outside.^[26] Verwoerd described her decision to seek a political career as "weird in South Africa. People don't do that".^[27] During the 1994 election campaign, she received a number of death threats from right-wing Afrikaners for whom she was a "renegade"."^[8] Verwoerd stated that while campaigning in the 1994 election that she met a favorable reception from black South Africans as she recalled: ""Not once did I get any resentment or anger or suspicion while campaigning. Sometimes people needed to ask questions in a very careful and polite way. People would tell you things like: 'I know it's horrible to say this, but the day Verwoerd was assassinated we danced in the streets.' It was like reclaiming a country that I didn't know existed."^[8]

Afrikaner reaction[]

Verwoerd stated that she felt that Afrikaner culture was highly conformist with little room for dissent as she said: "As long as you stay in the laager [a defensive circle of wagons used by the Boers during their wars with the Zulu in the 19th century], you can face a few ways, you can be a little bit of step - they will bear with you...But then when you step out of the laager and actually do something which is not in line, then the laager closes and you are out of it. It's a well known thing with Afrikaners. It's been like that since the Boer War, with the people who sided with the English. Calling an Afrikaner a renegade is a vicious thing to say to someone".^[24] As such, her decision to campaign against apartheid made her into something of an outcast within the Afrikaner community.^[24] Verwoerd recalled in 2007: "It was a very difficult time. My grandparents were extremely upset by my joining the ANC because the area they lived in was very strongly peopled by the AWB [the extreme right-wing Afrikaner movement]. But when the press leaked the fact that there was a Verwoerd in the ANC camp, all hell broke loose...I lost every single friend I had. I remember being spat on as I walked along the streets in Stellenbosch."^[9]

Political and diplomatic career[]

National Assembly[]

In the first fully democratic elections in South Africa, in 1994, Verwoerd, standing for the ANC, was elected as a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. She was re-elected in 1999. During her time in parliament, she was involved in the writing of the new Constitution of South Africa, and served on various parliamentary committees, including Local Government and Constitutional Affairs, the Youth Committee, Broadcasting and Communication, and Tourism and Environmental Affairs Portfolio. She took part in fact-finding missions, travelling to various locations including The Netherlands, UK, Sweden, Cuba, Chile, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and the US. She was involved in the Women’s Caucus, served as a resource person on the Women’s Budget, and was a member of the Standing Committee investigating surrogacy.^[28]

Verwoerd stated about her identity: "I always make an effort to speak Afrikaans because it is a part of my identity. I guess I should be learning how to speak other African languages, because that would send a message, but I have not. I get quite annoyed and irritated if somebody tells me that Afrikaans should not have a place in our society. It should have a place, but its place should not be privileged. It is fine to speak Afrikaans as long as it is not used to exclude people. This is why I objected to the concept of a white Afrikaans university, which would just become a conservative, white university".^[7]

In 1996, she left Stellenbosch for Cape Town as she and her family were being ostracized and harassed by the other whites in Stellenbosch.^[29] Verwoerd made a point of enrolling her children in a multi-racial school in Cape Town, wanting her children to be exposed to children of other races.^[29] A number of the students at the school were Muslims, which she credited with inspiring her children to have a more tolerant view of Muslims after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.^[29] Verwoerd formed an alliance with the other female MPs to press for concerns such as the lack of child care at the parliament, inspiring her and the other women MPs to all bring their children to work one day, throwing parliament into chaos, but which led the parliament to set up a creche the same day.^[30]

After the ANC won the 1994 election, she admitted that she was concerned that power was corrupting the ANC and that the ANC was turning into "ordinary political party" as she stated "power is very seductive. So is money".^[27] She took heart from a speaking at an ANC rally in 1999 at a poor black township in Northern Cape province where she apologized for the fact that the ANC government had failed to provide modern houses, running water and electricity for the people in the townships as it had promised in the 1994 election, only for an elderly black man to raise up and say: "You know, I've waited fifty years of my life, and it's the first time that I've seen a member of parliament. Just the fact that you came here will make me wait for another five years".^[31] Verwoerd stated: "That haunts me at night, old man like that. Because I don't want him to wait another five years. I would like him to have his house tomorrow".^[32] As a MP, she championed the rights of the mostly black workers against the mostly white owners of the South African wine industry, leading to incidents where the owners of the vineyards set dogs upon her.^[8]

Ambassador to Ireland[]

In 2001, she was appointed as South African Ambassador to Ireland. She asked President Thabo Mbeki for an ambassadorship and asked specifically for Ireland.^[8] Wilhelm Verwoerd Jr. had involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, which led him to become interested in a similar project for Northern Ireland.^[33] On 20 March 2001, Verwoerd arrived at the Áras an Uachtaráin to present her credentials as the ambassador of South Africa to Ireland to President Mary McAleese.^[33] In late 2001, Verwoerd was one of the founders of the Africa Solidarity Center in Dublin intended to break down prejudices against African refugees in Ireland.^[34] In 2002, when a report showed that two-thirds of those seeking asylum in Ireland had to live emergency accommodation as many landlords did not like to rent to them, Verwoerd called for more multiculturalism and integration in Ireland.^[35]

During her period as ambassador, she focused on encouraging increased tourism from Ireland to South Africa, which increased by 300% from 2001 to 2005.^[8] Besides for promoting tourism, she also had the task of promoting South African wines to the Irish middle class.^[8] In 2001, she presided over a function at the South African embassy to promote South African wine where she had to deal with the same owners of the vineyards who tried to chase her away in the 1990s, leading her to recall: "It was hilarious. It was typical-the best of South Africa, in a way. They all had a good laugh about it. I threatened them all with fair-trade agreements, and we drank on it and moved on".^[8] She also spoke on the challenges facing South Africa and the developing world, particularly the challenge of HIV/Aids.^[36] In 2003, the former South African president Mandela visited Ireland to host the Special Olympics and Verwoerd as the South African ambassador served as his guide to Ireland, where she introduced him to a host of Irish celebrities such as Bono and the rest of U-2 band, the businessman Tony O'Reilly and the actor Pierce Brosnan, the latter of whom Mandela was unaware of when Verwoerd arranged the meeting.^[37] Much to her amusement, Mandela upon later seeing a large crowd cheer Brosnan was heard to remark that he must be a "famous man".^[38]

Later in Ireland[]

RTÉ[]

In 2005, she completed her term as Ambassador and decided to remain in Ireland. She presented a weekly radio programme, Spectrum, on RTÉ Radio 1, on the theme of multiculturalism, which addressed the challenges facing the new Ireland and examined the issues that arise in a multicultural society.^[39] Verwoerd described her audience as the host of Spectrum as not being immigrant communities in Ireland, but rather a mainstream Irish audience whom were interested in multiculturalism.^[40] Initially, the approach at Spectrum when it debuted in June 2005 was "celebratory" as the producer Aonghus McAnally described it, but starting in its second season in September 2005 the show became as McAnally put it more "issue-driven".^[41] The first guests on Spectrum were The Corrs, an Irish family band that combines aspects of Celtic music with modern pop music, which reflected the "celebratory" approach.^[42] Reflecting the turn to the "issue-driven" approach was a show aired in November 2005 that featured representatives of Pavee Point, the main organisation for the Irish Travellers.^[41] Verwoerd stated in an interview: "But our remit has changed slightly in that are now asking more, not so much what is lacking as it comes up, but what is the society that we want to create in Ireland".^[43]

Reflecting a turn towards more controversial topics on 9 October 2005 Spectrum aired a show from Waterford about the case of Osagie Igbinedion, a Nigerian immigrant who performed a botched circumcision on an infant boy, Callis Osaghie, who bled to death in 2003 and was brought to trial in 2005.^[44] At his trial, the lawyers for Igbinedion argued that male circumcision was a traditional Edo practice, which was accepted by the jury which acquitted him.^[45] During the radio show, she interviewed Dick Spicer, the director of the Humanist Association of Ireland, who called male circumcision a "barbaric practice" and stated "democratic western culture" was the basis for judging whatever a culture represented "civilisation" or not, which led to some "incredulity" on her part.^[46] However, Verwoerd sounded sympathetic towards the anti-circumcision case as she stated afterwards: "Where does one draw the line? I'm feeling a bit frustrated with people saying, 'Well it's culture, you know, so it is just culture and religion'. But at the same time there is no consent from the child's side".^[47] In her final interview, Verwoerd spoke with Igbinedion who in response to her question about whatever male circumcision was "barbaric" replied: "You see, whatever the black world is doing, Africans are doing, the underdevloped world is doing, the western world always calls barbaric".^[48] During her time as the host of Spectrum, she stated that the main issue in Ireland was not so much racism as xenophobia.^[49]

She also represented the Mandela/Rhodes Foundation in Ireland and did consultancy work on development and multiculturalism. In 2007, Verwoerd was awarded the International Woman of the Year award.

UNICEF[]

In April 2007, Verwoerd was appointed executive director of UNICEF Ireland. She presided over an increase in income for the organization from €4.7 million in 2005 to €8.4 million in 2010, despite a severe recession in Ireland from 2008 onwards.^[50][51] In 2007, she criticised the Garda National Immigration Bureau, stating: "Like so many other immigrants, I was treated very badly and impolitely when I had to renew my visa. And it's been very interesting because I've had floods of emails following that from people saying they've had similar and worse experiences".^[9] During her tenure she travelled extensively to UNICEF field offices, including Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. She was involved in lobbying the Irish government to introduce new legislation to protect women from female genital mutilation and was involved in introducing a more child-friendly asylum process.^[9] In 2007, she stated her concerns about refugee children in Ireland: "I'm very concerned about that, UNICEF is very concerned about that. There are various issues -- the fact that we lose children; hundreds of unaccompanied minors have gone missing in Ireland in the last five years. The Garda know about it, the government knows about it, but very little seems to be done? How are they being followed up? How are they being looked for? You have these hostels where there isn't proper control over the children".^[9]

Back in South Africa[]

In December 2013, she moved back to Cape Town, charging that the intense media interest in Ireland caused by her status as the former partner of Gerry Ryan had made life unbearable, stating: "I’m glad to be back here where people know me for my public life and work and not my private life. I never wanted anyone knowing about my private life. I could never have planned for what happened....The media interest in me and my personal life had become too much".^[52] However, she stated that she misses Ireland as: "“I haven’t turned my back on Ireland for good. It’s my second home and I miss it. I miss my friends and I even miss the rain. Even this year, I’ve been back several times and I will be again in the future."^[52] In 2015, she stated: "I've been back in South Africa two years now, but I shuttle [back and forth]. I miss Ireland a lot and my friends here. I love South Africa, but I really do miss Ireland. I needed to get space-I'm happy there".^[53]

Verwoerd currently resides in Cape Town, South Africa and works as a political analyst, advising companies (both domestically and internationally) on political developments in South Africa and Africa. In 2018, Verwoerd was ranked one of the top two political analysts in South Africa in the Financial Mail's analyst ratings.^[54] She does regular roadshows to asset management companies and other financial institutions.^{[citation needed]} She has a weekly column on News24^[55] and also conducts radio interviews for EWN, 702, and Cape Talk.^[56] In April 2020, she contracted COVID-19, which left her in a state of exhaustion as she recovered.^[57]

Personal life[]

Fourie married Wilhelm Verwoerd, the grandson of former South African prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd, in 1987, and they had two children, Wilmé (born 1990) and Wian (born 1992). Both studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and went on to pursue postgraduate studies at The University of Cape Town, South Africa.^[58] They divorced in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Verwoerd with her partner Gerry Ryan at the opening of the Grand Canal Theatre in March 2010

In 2008, Verwoerd became the partner of Gerry Ryan, a well-known radio and TV personality in Ireland. Ryan died suddenly on 30 April 2010, with Verwoerd finding his body.^[59] In July 2011, the Board of UNICEF Ireland dismissed Verwoerd, citing the media attention and its handling following the death of Ryan as the reason, and offering a substantial ex-gratia payment. This resulted in a public outcry and Verwoerd initiated unfair dismissal proceedings.^[60][61] UNICEF Ireland settled the case out of court in April 2013 and issued a statement stating that "her departure was in no way a reflection of her performance, which was always of the highest standards."^[62]

Publications[]

Her memoir When We Dance was published by Liberties Press in Ireland in October 2012. It was quickly removed from sale pending a court action regarding alleged defamation.^[63] The action was set aside and the book returned to the shelves with a clarification slip being inserted into each printed copy.^[64] The book was also published in South Africa in May 2013 under the title The Verwoerd who toyi-toyied.^[65]

Sources[]

• Fisher, Ryland (2007). Race. Johannesburg: Jacana Media. ISBN 978-1770093737.
• Goodman, David (2002). Fault Lines: Journeys Into the New South Africa. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0520232038.
• Hutmacher MacLean, Barbara (2004). Strike a Woman, Strike a Rock: Fighting for Freedom in South Africa. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. ISBN 1592210767.
• Moylan, Katie (2013). Broadcasting Diversity: Migrant Representation in Irish Radio. Bristol: Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1783202256.
• Yambasu, Sahr John (2013). Between Africa and the West: A Story of Discovery. Victoria: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1490709802.

References[]