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Daily Insider: Bastardisation has rocketed as Moms seem to prefer going it alone

In a bygone age, a child out of wedlock was a millstone never shed in polite society. Nowadays, Moms seem to prefer going it alone.

Published on:

26 Jul 2022, 11:27 am

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Chances of newborn bastards rocket as more Moms now prefer going it alone

In a bygone age, a child out of wedlock was a millstone never shed in polite society. True, many famous people overcame illegitimacy (eg Leonardo da Vinci), but were they offered the option, few would have chosen that route.

Being a bastard nowadays, however, is in vogue. Updated data from the OECD revealed the proportion of children born out of wedlock has risen sharply in the past 50 years. While the average was around 10% in 1970 – now it it approaching half with traditionally Catholic countries like Chile, Mexico, Portugal and Spain above the global average. (see below)

South Africa isn't included in the OECD table, and my search for local data proved fruitless. What did emerge, however, was some interesting outliers: over 5 000 SA babies a year are born to mothers aged ten to 14; and 3 500 to over-45s. Tells us something about the state of the nation, doesn't it?

data-title=" WATCH: The oddly-named "Taliban" slate of the ANC in KZN emerged victorious over the so-called "Ankole" slate over the weekend. The former is aligned with the new provincial chairperson of the ANC's biggest region, Siboniso Duma, while the latter included the now outgoing leadership headed by Sihle Zikalala (current KZN Premier) – largely aligned with party president Cyril Ramaphosa. BizNews spoke to political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga about the precarious position Ramaphosa now finds himself in come the ANC's December elective conference. Nine out of 11 of the party's regions in KZN have endorsed disgraced former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to contest Ramaphosa for the party's top spot. Mathekga says the biggest takeaway from this weekend's conference is that, "there is just no compromise. The ANC will most likely look very different after President Ramaphosa. It looks quite dicey for him going into an elective conference on the back foot like this." Also, Mathekga's thoughts on Nhlanhla Lux's political aspirations (although he denies having any) that seem almost inevitable as he parts ways with Operation Dudula."

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