Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Thursday slammed the “primitive” South African Airways (SAA) for ordering a passenger to breastfeed her baby in a toilet.

The minister was relating an incident during which a Rhodes University lecturer trying to breastfeed her child on an SAA flight was told by an air hostess to breastfeed in the toilet.

“Now which one of us can ever accept it when you produce food and you are told to go eat in a toilet? I am sure you would slap such a person but it is expected that when babies want to eat must go to the toilet.

“I mean‚ what nonsense is that? If anyone from SAA is listening‚ please stop that primitive way of doing things. It is not acceptable in these modern times‚” Motsoaledi said.

Speaking at TK Motubatse clinic in Soshanguve‚ the minister said that at 8% South Africa had the lowest rate of breastfeeding on the African continent.

He lambasted women for not breastfeeding‚ saying it was nonsense that it was impossible to breastfeed exclusively for six full months.

“It is Women’s Month and I am saying it openly. You are not breastfeeding… sometimes women believe I am rude when I tell them then it means your child is worst than a cow. None of you have ever met a calf eating grass. All calves are on breast milk from their mothers and they do so for many many months but when it comes to human beings you tell us it is impossible‚” he said.

The minister said he was lobbying for mothers to breastfeed in public‚ adding that mothers should be free to breastfeed anywhere they wanted.