Give women the respect they deserve

THE increasing number of women who suffer abuse and violence and, in some cases, are brutally murdered by a spouse or partner, has become a sickeningly shameful statistic in the local community.

Just over a week ago, a 34-year-old Phoenix mother, Nadia Mia, was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband, after what appears to have been a domestic dispute. The details of the assault are too gory to repeat here, save to say it was an act of callous violence that sends shivers down one’s spine.

It comes in the wake of a number of similar tragedies in which women have died at the hands of a former or present spouse or lover, leaving surviving family members and loved ones shattered. Mia was the mother to two daughters, aged 7 and 15.

What possesses any man to behave with such cruelty and cowardice towards women?

In some cases, the violence is known to arise from drug and alcohol abuse, but that cannot, by any means, be used as an excuse.

In far too many local cases, such incidents of violence against women have their roots in masculine possessiveness, often misplaced suspicions of infidelity and sexual jealousy. It could also be the climax of a history of violence between the spouses or partners.

Whatever the reason, it all boils down to the amount of respect spouses and partners have for each other and their rights as individuals.

It is ironic that this issue should arise in a week when South Africans mark Women’s Day to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women and their courage and tenacity in fighting for their rights and the values they believe in.

That fighting spirit was epitomised on August 9, 1956, when more than 20 000 women of all races marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against apartheid’s pernicious pass laws.

That protest – one of the most historic events in the struggle for freedom and women’s rights in South Africa – has come to represent the courage and strength of women in the country.

It is now time for men in South Africa to start seeing themselves as feminists, which simply means they are prepared to play an active role and interest in the rights of all women – their spouses, partners, mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, grandmothers, friends and women in society in general.

Let’s celebrate Women’s Day by according women the respect and honour they deserve – every day of the year.