Patel naked for victim shaming
ACTIVIST: PRETORIA GIRLS PUPIL FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE
Protest on Friday outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court from 8am until noon.
Two years after dominating headlines for protesting against her school’s hair policy, Zulaikha Patel’s activism is about to cause waves as she plans a naked protest against victim shaming and to raise awareness about gender-based violence.
Patel, 16, first made headlines after she inadvertently became the face of protest against Pretoria High School for Girls’ code of conduct that she and other pupils argued discriminated against black girls wearing their hair in natural styles.
A poster intended to alert the public about Patel’s latest protest has been doing the rounds on social media, and has been shared by activists such as Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng.
Speaking to The Citizen, Patel confirmed she was planning the protest action after coming up with the idea last Friday.
This comes in the wake of cases such as the Pastor Omotoso trial and a European case in which a young Irish girl’s underwear was used as evidence of consent.
Patel said: “We felt the justice system has failed rape victims and we see this as the handling of trials and the handling of victims where they are treated as though it is their fault and we’ve decided to take action against the notion.”
Patel said she and her “comrades” are expecting a number of young men and women to attend the protest while naked and holding signs featuring messages such as “this is not consent” and “I am naked and I am still not asking for it”.
She also said that she had been in communication with organisations such as #NotInMyNameSA and #TotalShutdown for support.
The protest is set to take place outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court from 8am until noon on Friday, and Patel has invited those who wish to support their cause to attend the demonstration and participate.
Those who wish to support the protest action but are unable to attend are invited to post on social media platforms in order to draw attention to the demonstration.