Pretoria - Young activists staged a silent protest against gender-based violence outside Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday. Letting their slogans speak for them, activists held their placards aloft.
“Stop victim shaming”, “rape is rape, stop sugar-coating” and “rape is never the victim’s fault, clothing is not consent”, were among messages written on the placards.
On the forefront of the protest was 16-year-old women's rights activist Zulaikha Patel. The Pretoria High School for Girls pupil was clad in short pants and a camisole top. “We are standing here to stress to the society that under any circumstances rape can never be the victim’s fault because we have noticed that society often brutally shames victims,” she said.
Patel told the media that protesting outside the magistrate court was significant as one of the biggest rape cases in South Africa - that of a young child being raped in the men's toilet at the Dros restaurant in Silverton - was being heard at the court.
Passing motorists hooted while other passersby, mainly women, waved to show their support for protesters.
One of the passersby, Thabang Mabasa, said the demonstration “hits home”.
“As a man, if this does not make you uncomfortable then there is something totally wrong with you. It is sad to see that our young sisters have to take to the streets to express their fear of us. I fully support what these young ladies are doing and I really hope the everyone gets the message,” he said.