Port Elizabeth - The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (Udemwo) has expressed shock following the gang rape of a 27-year-old woman by three men in Komani in the Eastern Cape.
The mother of the 27-year-old woman stabbed a man to death and wounded two others after she allegedly found them gang raping her daughter.
The incident happened at an unoccupied house in the Qumbu administrative area in Zwartwater, near Komani, at the weekend.
The mother was subsequently arrested and appeared in the Lady Frere Magistrate's Court where she was released on bail of R500.
In a statement on Wednesday, Udemwo said it stood in support for the woman.
"Not because she killed the perpetrator, but because we believe her life, together with her daughter, was under threat. Any mother would have done the same should they find themselves in this kind of situation.
"We do not condone the actions of community taking the law into hands but understanding and knowing that women are under siege in the hands of those familiar to them, we understand the situation. If she did not defend herself, she could have been the one killed by the perpetrators," said Udemwo General Secretary Thandi Nontenja.
Udemwo further called for more police stations in rural areas so that community members could more easily report crimes.