JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) expressed regret on Tuesday at the charging of former deputy president Jacob Zuma with rape.

    The league said in a statement: "We are saddened by the fact that this incident implicates a leader that people have put confidence and trust in, and who has had the responsibility of leading the Moral Regeneration Movement, was convenor of the South African National Aids Council and also deputy president of the ANC."

    Jocob Zuma, 63, already facing corruption charges, was indicted for rape Tuesday in a case that could destroy his chances of taking the helm of a country seen as a political and economic model across the continent.

    Zuma, who was dismissed from government but remains No. 2 in the governing African National Congress, declared his innocence but said he was voluntarily withdrawing from his party's leadership structures for the duration of the trial.

    The rape charges, though, appear to have prompted some supporters to distance themselves.

    The statement by the league said: "We call on the ANC to provide leadership to society in these trying times, we commit ourselves as the ANCWL to rally women of our country on a course that will ensure that justice prevails."

    "The struggle for the emancipation of women and prevention of abuse has to be intensified in all fronts without fear or hesitation," the league said.

    The ANCWL noted that the incident happened as the country was observing 16 days of activism against violence against women and children.

    "Violation of the rights of women and children is an act that the ANCWL has historically and continuously campaigned against and committed itself to take a principled position in the interest of victims.

    "Whilst respecting the rights of the perpetrator to be viewed as innocent until proven guilty, in this instance the ANCWL calls on both the state and society to act and provide the necessary support to the victim," the league said.

    "It is our responsibility as a women's organization to raise the fact that irrespective of the nature of a relationship, a 'no from a woman means no' and that has to be respected."

    "Of serious concern is the 'vulnerability' of the victim and the historical relations that both families had," the league said. Enditem