Today, South Africa marks Women’s Day, but the mood is far from celebratory.
The list of women and girls whose lives have been brutally cut short grows longer each year – Olerato Mongale, abducted on a date and murdered; Nikita, killed in circumstances still under investigation; Joseline, the little girl sold by her own mother; Uyinene Mrwetyana, raped and murdered in a post office; the 102-year-old Eastern Cape woman raped and killed in her home; and countless others whose names never make the headlines. The list is long, and it keeps growing.
Between July and September 2024 alone, 957 women were murdered. In Pietermaritzburg, 113 elder abuse cases were reported in just five months, including the rape of a 96-year-old grandmother. Even children are not spared – the #JusticeForCwecwe campaign began after a 7-year-old girl was raped at her school.
The South African Medical Research Council reveals that 44% of femicide cases remain unsolved, up from 30% in 2017. UN Women reports that three women are killed every day by intimate partners, while survivors endure slow and often dismissive justice processes.
Women’s Month celebrations should not be about empty speeches, symbolic flowers, or staged photo opportunities. They must be a rallying cry for accountability, justice and protection.
Until women and girls can live without fear – whether walking home, in a school classroom, at work, or in their own homes – Women’s Day will remain a date of mourning, not celebration.
Image cred: iStock
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