EACH year in August, South Africa marks Women’s Month. We pay tribute to the women who marched on the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest the pass laws, and all other women who have shone the light on injustice and inequality in our society over the decades.
Each year in August, we are reminded that women in South Africa are not safe, and that danger facing them lurks within their homes, among their loved ones, and in the society at large.
This week was the second anniversary of the death of first-year University of Cape Town film and media studies student Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, who was raped and murdered in a post office where she went to fetch a parcel.
At the time, the death of this vivacious and ambitious young woman was seen to not only highlight the problem of gender based violence (GBV) and femicide, but also advance a movement for change under the banner #AmINext.
But, sadly, this was not the end of the problem. As Women’s Month 2021 draws to a close we are reeling from the details of the murder and dismemberment of another university student, final-year Fort Hare law student Nosicelo Mtebeni, 23. Her boyfriend, with whom she had shared a room, has confessed to killing her during a fight, and is remanded in custody.
How many Women’s Months or Days of Activism against GBV will it take to change the collective consciousness in this country? How many more calls to action must be made before we see change?
Under the headline “This has been a dark and brutal Women’s Month”, spokesperson Phumla Williams said while the government continued to work on implementation of the National Strategic Plan, launched last year following Uyinene’s and other cases, “we call on responsible men to lead the fight against gender-based violence and femicide”.
Law enforcement and the criminal justice system alone cannot stop these murders: we must all, Williams said, individually and collectively, contribute to the safety and well-being of women in our country.
We must hold one another accountable, and do everything we can to end this terrible blight on our society. And, sorry to say, men, but it starts with you. You need to rise up and be accountable for the attitudes and actions of boys and men that contribute to GBV.
As another Women's Month draws to a close, you need to say that #NotInMyName can this horror continue.
The Independent on Saturday