Strong message
#FEMALELIVESMATTER: MARCH AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
#Justice For TshegoPule awareness campaign members protest at Roodepoort Police Station yesterday after the body of Tshegofatso Pule, eight months pregnant, was found hanging from a tree in Durban Deep, Roodepoort.
Evelyn de Kock’s alleged killer found hiding in Eldorado Park on Monday.
The community of Eersterust in Pretoria braved the cold weather and took to the streets to chant “enough is enough” in protest against the killing and abuse of women.
Adults holding placards reading #JusticeForEvelyn, #FemaleLivesMatter and children holding up signs reading “Stop killing our mothers”, hundreds marched to the family home of Evelyn de Kock, 42, who was found brutally killed on Sunday.
Her boyfriend had reportedly asked for money from a family member that morning as he was leaving for a new job opportunity.
Later that day, De Kock’s body was discovered with multiple stab wounds in an outside building of her family home.
Her killing sparked a demonstration outside the scene of the crime, with angry residents chanting “genoeg is genoeg” (enough is enough) after gender-based violence seemed to have spiked during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The brutal murder caught the attention of Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who attended the picket to speak to the family of De Kock.
She believed it was up to women to prevent gender-based violence by walking away from any sign of abuse by a loved one.
“To our girl children, the first slap to your face is a good enough sign for you to start walking because we think we are going to have to deal with this matter through prevention,” said the minister.
Police arrested a suspect, 50, on Monday in connection with De Kock’s murder. The suspect was found hiding in Eldorado Park. This murder was one of many brutal killings of women in the recent weeks across the country.
On Friday last week, a woman’s body was found under a tree in Dobsonville. The day before, Tshegofatso Pule was buried after she was found stabbed and hanging from a tree in Roodepoort. Pule was eight months pregnant.
The bodies of Altecia Kortjie and her seven-year-old daughter Raynecia were discovered by police in Cape Town last Friday. They had been missing since Monday last week.
Kortjie was found with multiple stab wounds while her daughter was found on the bathroom floor. A man, 28, was arrested for the murders.
Nkoana-Mashabane said: “Genoeg is genoeg. We are going to bury patriarchy and build solid families that don’t just depend on material things…
“We have come here to say to De Kock family – may Evelyn and all 11 young women who died around the country … in the hands of their loved ones, may their souls rest in eternal peace.”
The first slap to your face is a sign to start walking