Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 07/03/2016
People Opposing Woman Abuse (POWA) says the stark reality of women being killed every eight hours in the country is something that needs to be addressed urgently.
In a statement POWA indicates South Africa’s ‘femicide’ (female death) rate is five times higher than the global average.
POWA’s Nonhlanhla Mokwena says a woman in an abusive relationship is more likely to be killed by their intimate partner.
“It is important that as survivors, victims must speak out and seek assistance from organisations like POWA, but also seek help from family members, society and the religious sector before its too late”.
Mokwena says all murder cases should be treated with the same coverage and manner such as the high profile Oscar Pistorius and Donald Sebolai incidents in which they were found guilty of murdering their girlfriends.
“Ordinary women are experiencing domestic violence from their husbands, from their boyfriends even from their brothers.”
Mokwena says 22 years into democracy women are still being treated as ‘inferior’ to men with the problem lying within society.
“Society in general is denying women equality, the number of rape cases is very high, the number of femicides is very high, and we do not respect our constitution.”
She says parents need to educate children about respecting women from a young age and that women should be looked at as equals, and not sexual objects.
(Edited by Faizel Patel)
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