I cry for my grandmother, mother,
sister, niece and nephew.
For the fact that all the people I mentioned do not have the vital power to protect themselves, there is need for intervention.
Father, your figure is no longer as important and respectable as before because of your behaviour and attempts to kill my mother.
Your face is often in the headlines because of the abuse you have carried out on women. Oh father! What happened to you?
Uncle, you are hypothetically a father in the absence of my biological father. Unfortunately, you seem worse because I, as your niece, can’t be left alone with you because you see me as a woman who fits your sexual desires.
I can no longer be friendly on any streets of my community because of the fear of what my brother can do to me. I am now not able to be in a relationship with someone I love because I am afraid of what my lover can do to me.
I have lost trust in the courts that are supposed to protect me as a woman, that are supposed to prosecute criminals who continue to violate me on a daily basis.
I no longer see the importance of the constitution and the Freedom Charter because as a woman I am not free.
What happened to my father, a loving man who was protective even after I got married, who died telling my husband that if he dares abuse me he will pay.
What happened to my husband, a loving man who I would miss even when he was taking a bath while I was preparing an evening meal. A man who didn’t command respect by beating me up but who earned respect because of the way he presented himself.
Or my uncle, a man who loved his nieces and nephews dearly, who would kiss all of us every time he visited us. A man we used to call Father Christmas because of the presents he always had for us.
Why does it seem like today the only present he has is abuse?
What happened to my male friend who saw me as a young sister and always wanted see me happy? What happened to my boyfriend, a man who would hold an umbrella for me during sunny and rainy days?
A man who would hug me warmly and kiss me with passion and love.
Today the only passion he has is to burn me alive; beat me up; sometimes rape me. Today the only passion he has is to drag me in the streets of our community when he is drunk and abuse me in front of my friends, telling me that I am a slut.
I am no longer as good as I look because my inside is dead. I am no longer a happy girl child because I was made a woman at an early age. I am no longer a happy boy child because I was abused by my father and I watched my mother being kicked in front of me with no power to defend her.
Oh grandfather! Why did you age so quickly? You would have been my protector. Grandmother, why didn’t God give you more strength to protect me and yourself?
Today I can’t leave my elderly people in their house alone because I am afraid of a gang that might enter the house and do as they please to my grand-
parents.
What happened to grandchildren who loved their grandparents and praised the fact that their grandparents are alive? What happened to our communities?
Today there is lack of law enforcement, and our communities are torn apart by the uncontrolled violence that is increasing daily.
We as men have turned to be monsters who contribute to this enormous violence in our communities.
Men, let us stand up and reclaim our throne. We are kings who are known to protect and love, not destroy. Where is our worth? Men, we have a role to play, and the time is now.