‘Do not look the other way’ Minister kicks off Women’s Month Dialogues

THE SOUTH African Minister for Women in the Presidency, Susan Shabangu, yesterday commenced with a series of Women’s Month Dialogues, to be held throughout the Northern Cape.

She yesterday addressed a crowd of men and women at the Mayibuye Centre in Kimberley during the first of these dialogues.

The minister said that the dialogues would focus on the challenges being faced by women in the Province, while sharing ideas and solutions to these issues.

She stated that the main challenges relate to alcohol, children and women abuse.

She called on women to not “look the other way” or to say “it is none of my business” when their neighbours were being abused, but rather to “speak out against violence”.

Shabangu added that while violence involving firearms against women was prevalent in other parts of South Africa, the Northern Cape had a high prevalence of incidents involving knives.

“Women are not punching bags – the assault must stop,” she said.

Shabangu also raised concern about the impact of domestic abuse on children, saying that children living in homes where their mothers were abused, often underachieved at school or turned to drug and alcohol abuse in an attempt to escape their circumstances.

She further called on women not to “hide” the rape of children in an attempt to protect the perpetrators, who were often their own husbands and/or partners.

“Children must be allowed to be children,” she said.

“Violence starts at home. We must learn to not only teach our boys that it is wrong to hit a girl, but also that it is wrong to hit any person. We must change how we talk at home and treat both boys and girls equally,” Shabangu added.

She concluded by calling on parents to not only be parents to their own children, but also to other children in their communities, thereby creating a better society for all.

The dialogues will continue throughout the rest of the Province.