Understanding gender equality

Cape Town. 180908. Learners at the Saambou Primary School attending sex education lesson. Picture Leon Lestrade

Cape Town. 180908. Learners at the Saambou Primary School attending sex education lesson. Picture Leon Lestrade

Published Aug 29, 2014

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Durban - A University of Zululand student who was harassed by other women on campus earlier this month for wearing a T-shirt and shorts has prompted the Commission for Gender Equality to intervene and work with the university to help students understand gender equality.

 

LLB student Onkarabetse Thebeng was taunted by her peers, who laughed and pointed at her while they took photographs with their cellphones and circulated the images on Facebook.

Commissioner Janine Hicks said her organisation was concerned that the attitude demonstrated by the perpetrators could lead to incidents of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

In 2007, Zandile Mpanza was assaulted and stripped naked for wearing trousers in Umlazi’s T-section.

In 2008, a Joburg woman, Nwabisa Ngcukana, was attacked by taxi drivers and hawkers at the Noord Street taxi rank for wearing a miniskirt.

The university said the “hounding” of Thebeng was unacceptable and warned that such behaviour would not be condoned.

Disciplinary action was set to be taken against the perpetrators, who would also have to submit to counselling, Unizulu spokeswoman Normah Zondo said. “The University of Zululand is an institution of higher learning and there is no dress code. As a public institution the university subscribes to the provisions of the Constitution of the country and advocates for the protection of individual rights as enshrined in the constitution.”

Zondo said it was ironic that Unizulu was celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Pink Friday initiative, aimed at instilling a sense of unity and support among female students in a patriarchal society.

She added that Thebeng would be given access to a psychologist.

Hicks said she was encouraged by the response the commission had from Unizulu in addressing the incident.

Representatives of the commission would meet senior management and student leaders on Monday.

Hicks said that her organisation also wanted to see whether the appropriate policies and awareness campaigns were in place to address the harassment of female students on social media, and to tackle gender discrimination and gender-based violence.

She said that while this was not the first time a woman had been harassed over her clothing, this was the first case reported to the commission where it had happened on a university campus.

The Mercury

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