South Africans take a stand against GBV in New York City
Over 200 South Africans came together in New York City on September 21 to take a stand against and bring awareness to gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa.
The movement, that also garnered support from Austrian, German, Columbian and Brazilian nationals and many others, saw those in attendance gather at Times Square and silently protest against the GBV and rape culture that exists in SA.
Benonian Ceanne Zillen, who works as an au pair in the USA, said she and two other au pairs, Iman Jeneker and Lerato Behu, brought together a group of SA woman who wanted to take a stand and show support for their families.
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“Even though we are thousands of kilometres away, we refused to sit by idly as our woman and children were and still are being raped and murdered,” said Ceanne.
“We started a WhatsApp group which grew to over 200 participants by day three.
“We decided that we needed to show our fellow sisters back home that they are not alone.
“Iman put in so much work to get the permits from the NYPD and New York City Street Permit Office.
“After two weeks of phone calls, fighting and praying, both of our permits were approved.”
Ceanne said women and men from all around the world, as well as the USA, stood hand in hand to highlight the plight of South Africans on the day.
“Sign boards with rape statistics and trending statements such as #AmINext were made,” she said.
“We cried, laughed and prayed together and had 10 minutes of silence for our fallen sisters.
“Everyone pitched in and bought ribbons and flags to hand out to other protesters and onlookers.
“We felt as if we made a difference and had many Americans stop and ask questions while others cheered us on and applauded our efforts.
“We can only hope that we were heard and that our small addition aids in the movement for change.”
Ceanne said most responses were positive; however, some negative ones were also received.
“Despite some negative commentary, we have decided to take a look at doing a march through New York City itself and are currently researching the necessary permits.”
Ceanne also wrote a poem for the day:
“Today we stood together.
“We stood together to open the world’s eyes to our pain.
“We stood in solidarity, as one country to bring awareness to the gender-based violence and the femicide in our South Africa.
“Today we stood together.
“We cried, we laughed, we prayed and most importantly, we listened.
“We stood for those who could not stand for themselves, we stood for the ones we’ve lost, for the fallen.
“We stood for the broken, the beaten and the scared.
“Today we stood together.
“Today we decided that we will not be next! We are one and we will make a change together.
“Forever, we will stand together!”
