Durban - PARLIAMENT’S portfolio committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (WYPD) was horrified by the incidences of gender-based violence that have been reported as Women’s Month draws to an end.
This was after a charred body, believed to be that of a woman, was found on the roadside in Mthwalume on the South Coast.
This brings the number of bodies of murdered women found in the area between April and this month to six.
A man was walking on the road to work on Saturday morning when he saw the body lying on the roadside.
Area Community Policing Forum chairperson Lucky Bhuyeni said a woman was reported missing on Friday by her boyfriend and it was believed the charred remains were hers.
“People who descended on the area to view the body included those who lived with her and they identified a wristwatch as belonging to the missing woman. This community is traumatised and there’s fear in everybody who lives here. Even though it is too early to link this murder to those of the five women who were found between April and August, what else comes to mind when a body of yet another woman is found in the same area?
“This really needs serious attention and more resources are needed to put an end to this slaughter of our children and young women.”
Bhuyeni said during a forum and community meeting last Monday that 14 women from the area had been reported missing at different times.
“I can remember only two women who were found alive. One woman, who had a child, was found with her boyfriend; the other woman I only received a message from her family saying she had since returned home. There are still six women who have not been found.”
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said the unidentified body was found at about 6am.
“The body was burnt beyond recognition and covered in plastic. At this stage, we cannot say whether it’s a male or female. Indications are that this person was killed elsewhere. The body was burnt and then dumped on the roadside.”
WYPD portfolio committee chairperson Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba said the committee has interacted with various political parties and the Commission for Gender Equality on the incidences of gender-based violence.
“The involvement of the community in addressing gender-based violence is critical to curbing the abuse of women and children. This scourge is of concern and there needs to be a dialogue to fight it. We want to involve the police, Justice Department and the Commission for Gender Equality in our attempt to put an end to this terror against women in that area,” Ncube-Ndaba said.
Daily News