Women call for tougher action on violence
THE government has been urged to do more to ensure legislation aimed at protecting women from gender-based violence is enforced so #TotalShutDown of the scourge can be achieved.
This was the call of hundreds of women who marched from Currie’s Fountain to the Durban City Hall yesterday.
The march was one of three #TotalShutDown demonstrations in the province. Marches also took place in Pretoria and Cape Town and in other southern African countries, said one of the KZN organisers, Ncumisa Ndelu, who is also the spokesperson for the Department of Social Development.
“We thank our government and appreciate the legislation and policies we have in South Africa, which are some of the best in the world. But there are loopholes when it comes to enforcement.
“We are calling on the government to close those holes in law enforcement and the justice system. We are saying no bail or parole for the perpetrators of gender-based violence,” said Ndelu.
She said it was more troubling that this violence had extended to young girls and called for the topic to be part of life-orientation lessons in schools.
“We need to educate young girls so they are able to identify gender-based violence as soon as it happens. In the age of social media, we are seeing girls and women being cyberstalked. That must come to an end.”
Ndelu said they were also calling for a quicker turnaround time when the police, particularly forensics, investigated such cases.
“The long delays give perpetrators and their families more time to pressure victims to withdraw cases,” she said.
The demands were contained in a memorandum which was accepted by Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane on behalf of the provincial government.
A banner promising to keep speaking out against gender-based violence was also signed by KZN’s First Lady, Zodwa Mchunu, eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa.
Molewa said, as with the women of 1956, the women were marching together because they struggled together. “This scourge transcends race, class and any other difference, perceived or real, that separates us.”
The march coincided with the start of Women’s Month which Molewa said was good for heightened awareness, but it did not end in August as “every day there is strife and women are saved from abusive situations”.
One woman who could not be saved was Zolile Khumalo, the Mangosuthu University of Technology student who was shot dead, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend Thabani Mzolo, at her residence in May.
Her sister, Senamile Khumalo, marched with the about 500 women yesterday, dressed in black and red. “These women are standing up for us. They are fighting against women abuse, something that means a lot to me,” she said.
In memory of Zolile, a group with Senamile wore T-shirts with a picture of the 21-year-old first-year quantity surveying student.
Mzolo abandoned his bail application and, through his attorney, told The Mercury recently that he intended to plead guilty.
Also at the march was Carmen Lee, whose daughter, Siam Lee, 21, was found dead in a field in the Midlands after she was abducted from Durban North in January. Her alleged killer is currently out on R50 000 bail.
Meanwhile the march in Pretoria started off peacefully but later turned violent when marchers at the Union Buildings demanded that they be addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and that he accept their memorandum.
Higher Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor was on hand to receive it but this enraged the women, who started tugging and pulling at the security fence, leading to the police intervening.