Ntsiki Mazwai recounts her rape ordeal

On Saturday night, four women held a silent rape protest at the IEC results centre in Pretoria where President Jacob Zuma was addressing guests, an act that has sparked renewed debates around rape.

Since then, the hashtag #1in3 has been trending, with Twitter users sharing their rape ordeals.

The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest in the world. A report by the United Nations Office on Crimes and Drugs for the period 1998-2000 ranked the country first for rapes per capita. In 1998, one in three of the 4 000 women questioned in Johannesburg had been raped, according to Community Information, Empowerment and Transparency (CIET) Africa. While women’s groups in South Africa estimate that a woman is raped every 26 seconds, the South African police estimates that a woman is raped every 36 seconds.

Poet Ntsiki Mazwai revealed on Twitter that she also had been a victim of sexual violence. She says she suffered this violence at the hands of an “industry guy”.

“…And thing is….i know i said no and i know i tried very hard to push him off me…..he was just too strong…..but yeah i’m lying.

“And when that d**k has ripped inside your vagina……..everything else doesnt matter, the battle ends. He won. #1in3

“and i dont know why i didnt scream……. #1in3,” she tweeted.

Ntsiki has always been vocal about her stance against the abuse of women. Earlier this year she took to Twitter to lash out at DJ Euphonik for calling his ex Bonang Matheba “Hlanyos” in a Twitter rant.

She called him a “bully”, also lashing out at people on Twitter who laughed at his tweets and commended him for the #NONKE T-shirt he created out of it.

“Dj Euphonik taught the youth to say im dirty and to call Bonang Hlanyos……….WHAT A MAN! AND THEN you idiots even celebrate NONKE,” she tweeted.

She said South Africans were celebrating “the poster boy of domestic violence”, who, according to her, is also a broken man who likes attacking women with strong personalities.

“Levels of abuse against women are being held up by you and your euphonik….the girl beater. i see.”