Women’s Month, this August, will be one for the history books. Women are coming together to march against gender-based violence in SA.
Enough is enough! Gender-based violence in South Africa needs to be stopped. Politicians and lawmakers need to speak out and support changes that see women feeling safe to come forward, to see them protected and to see the people responsible for gender-based violence, punished more severely.
South Africa is a patriarchal society. It has been this way for far too long. This issue, of gender violence, is not unique to one race, it affects all women in South Africa. It is an issue that can unite women from every walk of life.
It has been declared that the women of South Africa, will march together and shut down the country on the 1st of August. This date is special because it is the start of women’s month.
“We are basically saying it’s time for us to rise up as women and fight against it because we can’t expect the government to do something about it, we’ve been waiting and nothing is being done”
“We are tired of enduring this pain. How many women have died from this silence and this enduring of pain and somewhat trying to keep the peace in society while in actual fact there is no peace in society?”
“Women’s lives are in danger every single day.” — Lesley Ncube, National Spokesperson for #Totalshutdown
Women are being asked to join arms, join the various marches across the country or stay away from work on the 1st of August. This will be one of the biggest female movements in South Africa since before the implementation of the democracy.
A detailed memorandum will be handed over to government detailing points that should be implemented in South Africa. These points outline changes that can be actioned in all branches of government. At the Union Building (Office of the Presidency/Office of Women), the Courts (judicial reform), at Parliament (legislative amendments) and to the Police and Security (policing). You can review it here. The document is open for public comment and contribution due to diversity of women in South Africa.
The hope is that this document will encompass every situation faced by women.
This is for Karabo Mokoena, Jayde Panayiotou, Reeva Steenkamp and this is for every woman that has lost her life but didn’t get a front-page headline. For more information on the march, contact them via email at wosatotalshutdown@gmail.com or on Twitter @WomenProtestSA.
Below is a video that outlines the fight that women in black communities face, the poem is powerful and moved us to tears. PoeticSoul uses her words to pack punches, she highlights the desperate state that is gender-violence within the black community.
The video has already received over 42,000 views.
I received this video on a WhatsApp group chat… It hit home. Bawo Thixo Somandla, buyintoni ubugwenxa bomntu watyhini eMzantsi Afrika? Kanti senzeni ebusweni be Nkosi? Mayidlule le ndebe…" #TotalShutdown 1 August pic.twitter.com/9iaiasM9DS
— Asanda Magaqa 🇿🇦 (@asandamagaqa) June 9, 2018
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