I cannot handle the thought of rape. Even the word makes my skin crawl and heart pump faster. The word, like the act, is brutal, savage, ruins lives & imprisons people in their own bodies. So this morning when I turned on the TV to see a vitriolic alleged rapist taunting his victim calling her a ‘slut’ it didn’t make my day. What was worse was that the victim has her nightmare continue with the taunting and court delays. She has over the last 4 years seen the worst side of our government and legal systems’ supposed support for women. She was violently gang raped in 2005 by 7 men [all youths –between 18-21] and her attackers have yet to be charged –they walk around arrogant and still very much free. This begs the the question: If you had been raped in a poor community, after seeing this, would you come forward to go through this hell? It must be such a lonely place to find yourself, dealing with the trauma and still dealing with the criminals as they jeer in your face, so sure of themselves. The system seems to favour them.
To the victim of this crime, the fact that you have ‘stayed in the game’ for so long to fight for your rights through such awful circumstances and no gov. support makes you my hero. You are highlighting the plight of the abused women everywhere.
So what’s our governments’ stand on this? Well with prominent figures in government, like Malema [from the ANCYL] saying things like the woman in the JZ rape case ‘must have enjoyed herself as she stayed over’ just exacerbates perceptions and very defiantly in a sick way promotes this kind of abuse towards women. He needs to learn the art of leadership and what responsibility it carries. Lets not forget that that woman had to flee the country after numerous threats. [I wont go down the road of the JZ saga as he was acquitted but his record has a very large grey area… a ‘fish’, after all, does rot from its head and he remains very silent on these issues]. If the ANC does well at one thing its ‘silence’, an Mbeki legacy that so far seems to be upheld.
What is even more incredible [against the above background], is the ANC’s recent, very definite and loud ‘stand’ against opposition leader Helen Zille’s choice of a mainly male cabinet. As if they really care about that! Come on guys we all know its really about the politics of NOT WINNING the province – we are not that stupid! It is certainly NOT about caring for women’s’ rights. If that were the case you would be doing more for the women on the ground. The reality is that if the government really cared then this kind of rape case example [and there are numerous examples] would be top priority and morons like Malema would be publically silenced and better still removed from his position after preaching his abuse speak to youth.
When will the ANC government realise that trust lies IN THE ACTION. Really caring in this case requires leadership, action, education and a lot of selfless work. BUT most of all it requires swift justice.
To all those women out there that have been let down by the system, I am sorry. POWA and such organisations have a big task educating the South African male but it seems with the newbie’s in influencing positions in government, they may be fighting and losing battle at the moment. Please DON’T give up though, we can always hope. In the end what else do we have?
UPDATE: A judge finally found the men guilty of rape. Took long enough! There were also 8 men. One, said to be the leader- escaped and was never charged.
Afritude. My African Attitude. 