Two days ago, while I was getting ready to go for a quick jog, I heard my mom yelling numerous instructions at me: “Stay alert! Make sure that you run against traffic, not with it! Don’t run with earphones in! BE SAFE!” Her last instruction never ceases to make me feel slightly queasy. BE SAFE. Instructing a woman in South Africa to be safe almost seems like wishful thinking. Where will women of South Africa find safety? What is safety even in a country such as this? By now, all women of South Africa know that your safety cannot be guaranteed by your class, gender or social status. Ignorance is not bliss. The reality is that your female gender can automatically make you a target. In a country where femicide is five times the global average, it is understandable that females would never feel like their safety is guaranteed. I had imagined that lockdown would have decreased these statistics of violence towards women and children. Yet, only a year after the death of Uyinene Mrwetyana which sparked nationwide protests, women are still being killed more frequently and violently. We are still living in the midst of femicide and wondering what, and if, the government and society as a whole, will ever start taking steps towards addressing the violent plague within our society. As the months of lockdown have toiled on, less posts about COVID-19 have been appearing on my Instagram feed but more posts about femicide and GBV have been flooding my social media accounts. Tshegofatso Pule, Sanelisiwe Mfaba, Kwasa Lugalo are only a few of many more violent deaths that have occurred by the hands of men. Hearing perpetrators of abuse towards women being released on bail cries that women’s lives only seem to be worth R500 (because that’s how much it costs accused rape and abuse perpetrators to get out of jail). These deaths and lack of justice are only reaffirming the words of Zoe Human, “We’re a country with no rainbow, only rain. And that rain is red and warm and bruised between her thighs.” However, seeing the fierceness and strength of South African women cannot extinguish a flicker of hope. This fear hovering in society has been faced with a flame of resilience by thousands of women who are fighting for their constitutional rights. Social media platforms have become political. Perpetrators have been exposed, petitions have been signed, protests have been organized, women have helped each other through the power of sharing stories. The fight has commenced. Despite facing opposition from our police, who had arrested some women during a peaceful protest against Femicide and Gender Based Violence outside parliament on 29 August 2020, women still fight on. We should fight on until our government will become more concerned with arresting the perpetrators than the victims. We should fight on because it’s not enough to have improved policing or a more efficient judicial system, society needs to stand up with women. If we don’t fight for our safety, who will? I do hope that the shedding of blood, sweat and tears, will come to an end. And that immediate change will dawn on our society. And the reign of femicide will be dethroned.
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