Siyavuya Mzantsi
HUNDREDS of people, the majority of them from churches in the Strand area, marched through the streets of Lwandle yesterday to voice their concerns about violence against women and children.
The march, part of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, was joined by Community Safety MEC Dan Plato.
Xola Mlandu, a local reverend, said it was sad that there were still incidents of violence against women and children during the period of the campaign.
“We don’t want to watch violence against our wives, daughters and sons. Lord, you never asked us to abuse women. We want to admit we have done something wrong and apologise. We want men to turn away from doing evil things and do the right thing,” said Mlandu.
“We are standing here to say the abuse must stop. Abuse against women and children – we want it to come to an end.”
The marchers held prayers at various stops along the route. Residents were encouraged to join the procession.
“We want to say thank you for giving us this opportunity. Yes, we know this is a walk of sadness. It is a walk of saying it is enough. We are not doing this because we like doing it. We are doing it because of the real issues faced by our communities,” Mlandu said.
Plato said substance abuse was among the factors that played a role in ill-discipline in communities. He said there were about 90 cases reported on average involving women and children in the province every week. “Substance abuse is responsible for the killings that happen in our society – as with the rapes and other violent crimes,” he said.
“It’s very important that we take to the streets of Lwandle and call on men to stop abuse. Domestic violence in this area is rife. The number of youngsters murdered is concerning. That is why we need to address this issue.”
The government alone could not solve the problem of substance abuse, Mlandu said.
“We also need what we call the ‘whole of society’ approach, and the churches are the examples of this approach.”