Are we ready to vote for a 25-year-old to be the president of SA? If your instinct answer is no, before knowing anything about such a person other than their age, it is worth asking what inherent biases we hold and presuppositions we make about young people that make their age a disqualifier for political leadership.

By the time a person is 25 they have had enough time to get a master's degree, have started a business, become a parent or led in community activism. There are 25-year-olds who have travelled extensively, read widely, invented new products and have shown extraordinary leadership. There are people who by 25 implemented ideas that have changed the world. Perhaps, it's not that young people are not ready to lead, but that we are not ready to be led by young people...