Struggle is far from over
●‘Saved’ from rape, then raped Mom pays moving tribute to rape victim, Khensani Doctor told to shut up just because she’s a woman
“I don’t know how I will survive without you but I trust God will make a way for me to make it through.”
This was a moving message from Khensani Maseko’s mother Thembi Maseko, who was paying tribute to her daughter during her funeral service at Nasrec Memorial Park, south of Johannesburg, yesterday.
Maseko, 23, a third-year law student at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, committed suicide last week at her Alberton home after being allegedly raped by her boyfriend in May at the institution. Yesterday, family and friends filled the cemetery’s chapel to capacity to bid her goodbye.
Family member Sandiso Maseko Mabusela read Thembi’s message: “No words can describe how I feel regarding your sudden death. I named you Khensani because I was thankful to God for you.
“I also named you Nkanyezi, a shining star, and indeed you were our shinning star.
“I want to thank God for the 23 years he gave us to share with you. Your tragic passing has left a gaping and bleeding hole in my heart. At this darkest moment of my life, I am left with rich memories and will forever hold these dearly.”
Maseko was a member of the EFF Student Command and was also SRC member at Rhodes in 2016. Fellow student Nhlakanipho Mahlangu hailed Maseko as a strong and incredible leader whom they looked up to.
“I was afraid when I discovered that I was running for SRC presidency with Khensani. She is the person that we looked up to. Today I don’t know what to say,” she said.
Mahlangu called for a change of attitudes and protection of women.
“We need to change this world, it cannot be that parents who give birth to female children need to prepare for their deaths.
“Khensani is not lying here because she was weak; she is lying here because she was a strong woman and an incredible leader,” Mahlangu said.
Rhodes vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela said society had failed Maseko and many of her peers out there.
“The pain she endured for three months (after being raped) is unbelievable. Her death has raised the nation’s anger and we must pay greater attention to how we raise and socialise a boy child into manhood,” he said.
EFF Gauteng acting provincial chairperson Mandisa Mashego criticised Rhodes, calling the university the “biggest hypocrite” for alleged failures in its policies on sexual violence.
EFF Student Command president Peter Keetse expressed disappointment that society tended to react to situations better than preventing them from happening.
“Universities do not offer sufficient support. There should be a compulsory subject that deals with mental being of our students. This should be the last incident we [must] see,” Keetse said.
Minister of police Bheki Cele called on society to stop making boys super kings. He said boys grew up owning everything, including women.
“We have made it normal that boys have extra access to girls’ bodies. As a result, we bury them almost every day, not just Khensanis or Karabos. These perpetrators’ become somehow arrogant because of this entitlement, that she belongs to me,” Cele said. As the coffin was placed into the hearse, Thembi, supported by family members, wept uncontrollably as she walked to a vehicle transporting the family to the cemetery.