It is only six days into women’s month and already another woman has died after she was allegedly sexually assaulted.
Law student Khensani Maseko, a Rhodes University student, took her own life on Friday after she was raped. #RIPKhensani has trended over the weekend with social media users poured out their condolences. Her family has not released a statement surrounding the circumstances of her death. Her twitter timeline suggests that she may have been sexually assaulted as she retweeted and responded to some of the tweets about gender-based violence and sexual assault from different people.
Maseko was a student activist who was a Rhodes SRC Alumni and Miss Varsity Shield 2018/19. She last posted a picture on Instagram captioned: NO ONE DESERVES TO BE RAPED!
Twitter was abuzz with users expressing themselves about her death:
I am so so sorry, Khensani. Rest, baby girl. ???????? #RIPKhensani #SihleMaphumuloMustBeJailed #EnoughisEnough pic.twitter.com/V4EC8lgP4D
— Gogo Nomakhwezi ✨???? (@Boity) August 5, 2018
Its sad to see that during this very tragic and sad period, Men still don't understand that No means NO!! We can't get our heads around the concept of Consent and its importance. What a terrible world it is for women!#RIPKhensani
— Kutlwano ???? (@KutlwanoSeale) August 5, 2018
You recently posted that last picture, telling us that one day you’d give a TED Talk that would shake us all. You had so much left to do, so much left to achieve.
You didn’t deserve what happened to you. I’m so sorry.
I’m hurt. I’m numb.
Rest In Peace angel. ❤️ #RIPKhensani pic.twitter.com/5nwdRCq8FL
— IG: Katlego_Moncho (@Katlego_Moncho) August 4, 2018
This is Khensani Maseko, a 1995 born Served in the SRC at Rhodes University, a law graduate, she was raped, she suffered from depression thereafter she committed suicide. Rest in power fighter???? #RIPKhensani pic.twitter.com/mFNgIHKtUO
— Motheo Mooki (@MookiMotheo) August 5, 2018
Do people realize that rape victims don't like talking about it? It's a very sensitive matter, as confident as I am as an individual I honestly don't like talking about how I was molested for over 1year by a person that was a family friend. #RIPKhensani
— W A M ???? (@Wam_Rani) August 5, 2018
When the world is filled with broken women, who will mother them?!!! Who?!!!!
Men are breaking us so irreparable!???????????????? It hurts!????#RIPKhensani pic.twitter.com/QFLw4xAbjR
— Boitumelo Zitha???? (@Boitumelo_Zitha) August 5, 2018
She left a suicide note for the world. I can only imagine what was going through her mind in those final moments. She was only 23.
END RAPE CULTURE. END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. END IT NOW!#RIPKhensani pic.twitter.com/wcDDkEQO3E— re tsene (@cjneema) August 5, 2018