Residents of Vrygrond and surrounding areas took to the streets on Tuesday 29 November in remembrance of all women brutally slain due to gender-based violence (GBV).
Mymoena Scholtz, the founder of Where Rainbows Meet Training and Development Foundation and the organiser of the event, said they had enough of the brutal murders occurring daily across the country.
“We are taking a stand and saying to the society we have had enough of the crime in our country, we had enough of women being brutally murdered on a daily basis, every second of the day. We feel suffocated in this country because we are not free.
“There is no democracy where our women and children are being brutally murdered on a daily basis. We need our freedom as women and feel in this country we are not free at all.”
She added it was important to create awareness throughout the year and not only during the 16 Days of Activism For No Violence Against Women and Children.
“Today, we remember Uyinene Mrwetyana, Jesse Hess, Hannah Cornelius and Meghan Cramer as well as all those women who were brutally murdered.
She added: “The stats alone are alarming. From last year July until June (this year), there were also 1 888 children murdered.”
Scholtz feels it’s time women empower themselves to be independent.
“Women need to rise and empower themselves economically so that they are not dependent on anyone.
“They also need to make informed choices when it comes to who they bring into their lives.
Most of the time little children suffer because they see their mothers being beaten by their boyfriends or husband and the cycle continues when they become the next perpetrators if they are not taken care of.
“So, my message today to women is: stand up for yourselves, stand up for what you believe in and stand up for a woman.”
Felicia Varrie, a resident of Overcome Heights who joined the walk, says she is tired of all the women killed.
“I am joining this protest today because I am sick and tired of all the women that are being killed and all our children that are being abused and raped in our informal settlements and all around the world.
“That is why I am standing here today and I’m walking this walk against gender-based violence to stop all the brutality towards women.”
Referring to the crime stats and high GBV figures released earlier this month, she said it was heartbreaking.
“It is heartbreaking that the crime stats are so high, but we are going to try our best as women to say enough is enough and no means no and our bodies are our bodies.”
Heide Goode, secretary at the Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF), said it was not only women who were victims of GBV.
“We have a crisis, but GBV goes both ways.
Men are victims as much as females are and it is something that we are trying to get the police to recognise because when men come in, they are ignored.
“We as CPF are here to support Where Rainbows Meet because they are one of the organisations who really get out on the ground and we are very proud of them.”
Meanwhile, Muizenberg police spokesperson, Capt Stephen Knapp, says family members can report incidents of GBV to police if victims were too afraid to speak up.
“As a family member, if you know of domestic violence you can report the matter on behalf of that person even if they don’t want to.
“So, the law is very strong regarding that.”
He added that as a man he cannot talk on behalf of what women experience.
“I’m a man, I can’t speak as a woman, but I can tell you the strongest woman in my life was my mother, and my father would never lift his hand to my mother.
“I think the message today is that a woman has so much responsibility and authority.
“You (women) choose the boyfriend that you want, so choose wisely and make wise decisions.”
