Celebrating Women’s Month under dark cloud of gender-based violence
On Sunday, SA will celebrate Women’s Day. This is an annual day set aside to commemorate the sacrifice and the spirit of women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 in protest against the apartheid government’s pass laws. As we commemorate this day,
The month of August celebrates women and their achievements across the continuum in SA. This special time calls upon all of us to reflect on the immense contribution women have made to the history of this country and still continue to make as the drivers of change for a better society and SA for all.
As we applaud women and their immeasurable sacrifices in all spheres and facets of our lives, there is a need to take a closer look at the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) that has plagued our society; undermining the rights of women and young girls. This pervasive social ill needs to be urgently curbed as time and again it has shown its ugly head through murder, rape, physical violence and sexual assault, as reflected in the recent statistics released by police minister Bheki Cele.
Although calls have been made to put an end to GBV and femicide, the brutal treatment and seemingly endless acts of violence against women is escalating beyond control. While some men have been victims of GBV, it is the women and young girls that continue to bear the brunt.
Taking a stroll down memory lane, women have played a crucial and key role in the emancipation of SA as a whole. In 1956, women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to show their dismay and disapproval of the introduction of apartheid laws. More than six decades later South African women are making headlines in protest against widespread of GBV across the country with children as young as 2 years being victims of this heinous crime.
Evidently, men have been significantly identified as the perpetrators. One of the reasons men partake in these violent acts is the continuous promotion and praise of masculinity under the so-called traditional and cultural structures in our societies that epitomise men as the dominant gender. This has subsequently led to the high rise of GBV. Moreover, traditional and cultural practices such as lobola, ukuthwala, male circumcision and virgin testing have provided a platform for the violation of the rights of women.
Even though SA is a signatory of various statutes and instruments to promote gender equality, the reality on the ground is appalling in terms of empowerment of women across the spectrum. It seems the etiquette of putting women first has vanished into thin air. The culture of respect for women is now a pipe dream. Recognising women as equals has become a fallacy and the ethos and chants of an equal society for all exists in the fragments of our minds.
For years, women have continued to suffer in silence, but recent protests against GBV and femicide are a clear indication of how deeply GBV has become entrenched in our society. The culture of suffering in silence is slowly but surely coming to an end, with women fighting hard to liberate themselves and be the voice of the voiceless by showing their consternation and discontentment of how their right to life, health, dignity, security of person and freedom is violated by GBV. But it is the current statistics that remain questionable.
The year 2020 has seen the ugliest face of GBV with men taking out their lockdown frustrations on vulnerable women and children. Crime statistics for 2019/2020 have shown how the horrifying abuse of women’s rights through GBV has found its place in SA society.
Sexual offences increased by 1.7% and rape increased by the same percentage, while murder rose by 1.4%. Meanwhile, common assault against women rose by 0.6%, while the attempted rape of children rose by 4.3%. The province of KwaZulu-Natal is now the rape capital of SA. Added to the list are schools, colleges and higher education institutions in SA that are also becoming infested with a rape culture after 380 rape cases were reported during 2019/2020.
The culture of GBV continues to divide our already fragile society. It starts with some public figures who are known to have escaped the jaws of the law despite allegedly committing GBV-related crimes. A culture of chauvinism and disregard of womanhood is prevalent especially among some ethnic groups in SA.
The overall perception and continued practice of patriarchy has not taken into consideration the important role played by women in our societies. As a result, they no longer feel safe in their own homes and communities. They are subjected to violations of their rights in the workplace (sex for jobs and sexual harassment), in academia (sex for marks and various forms of sexual assault), in society (sociocultural factors), in politics (violence against women) and in
It seems the etiquette of putting women first has vanished into thin air
Patriarchy continues to deny women their rightful place in society
economic opportunities (stereotypes of women as incompetent and weak).
One cannot deny the fact that the problem of GBV in SA has been an Achilles heel for a long time. Women of all ages have constantly paid the price of mistreatment at the hands of their male counterparts. However, the current difficult circumstances and crises we find ourselves in due to the global Covid-19 pandemic have seen a significant increase in the numbers of GBV cases taking place in the country. So many women and girls face this heinous act that denies them the privilege of enjoying the sanctity of life, and this has significantly increased the negative impact imposed by the pandemic on women.
As governments are dealing with curbing the spread of this pandemic; the scourge of GBV on the other hand is spreading like a wildfire. This has resulted in women being confronted with the double-edged sword of Covid-19 and GBV, putting a huge constraint and risk to their lives, with some stuck behind the tradition of men being the so-called providers for the families.
Moreover, in the rural areas where strong moral values, culture and tradition still exists and are widely practiced, women continue to be discriminated against and exploited. They are seen as domestic and child bearers and their ultimate meaningful duty is to simply take care of the household. Patriarchy has denied and continues to deny women their rightful place in society as movers and shakers of change.
The law, government, civil society, communities, men, tradition and culture have dismally failed to find a solution to the high rise and prevalence of GBV. What we witness are clamors to end the vicious cycle of GBV with no resolution and definitive answer on how to put an end to this heinous act, taking into consideration that SA is largely a violent society due to its long, protracted history of apartheid that denied some races rights and privileges, leading to the denouncement of racial subjugation.
However, GBV subsists and as always women seem to be the sacrificial lamb of socioeconomic and political frustrations faced by men in a growing unequal and divisive society. The unequal power relations between men and women is the modus operandi in today’s society. Women continue to be caught in the web and shackles of disempowerment despite the significant strides made to provide an equal and peaceful society for all.
As we celebrate women ’ s month, we need to do a selfintrospection as a country on the way the culture of perpetuating male dominance has played the role of enabler when it comes to GBV. There is also a need to deal with the immature tendency by most men of taking the frustrations caused by economic problems, Covid-19 and a host of other issues out on vulnerable women.
Rape and murder is by no means close to certifying the perpetrator as a hero, it simply proves how much our society needs to deal with the roots of GBV. This is the time for men, government — especially the justice system — and other stakeholders to take a firm stand against GBV. Now more than ever, there is a need to preach the gospel of a GBV-free society where women and young girls can live free of fear and intimidation. Dr Wayne Malinga is an independent researcher, consultant and an alumnus of the University of Fort Hare. Dr Bellita Banda Malinga is a postdoctoral fellow under the Oliver Tambo Chair of
Human Rights at the University of
Fort Hare. They write in their personal capacity.
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