16 days of gimmicks to survivors of rape, GBV

I find it laughable and appalling that the theme for this year’s 16 days of activism is “Enough is Enough – 356 days to gender-based Violence and Femicide”.

This comes from a government that moves at a snail’s pace in addressing the plight of survivors of rape, abuse and violence.

We live in a society in which there is not enough elements to deter people from committing crime because we have become a society that only reacts but for a moment. We are also a society that shows disdain for a moment as the punishable method for perpetrators.

To dress up a couple of days as moments of activism, to shout and declare outrage and anger, only to carry on with our normal lives afterwards is laughable.

Our government is every bit inconsistent, especially on matters that they feel they are compelled to act upon. There is no eagerness to find a solution, no measures put in place to find refuge for fleeing women and children, no safety net to guide and protect them as they embark on the treacherous road of the court system to attain justice.

With our apathetic social and police departments, I can understand why many women opt to remain silent. Funeral parlours remain busier this time because more women are being buried than those being rescued.

How did our government quantify that “enough is enough”? Did they count the body bags, did they tally the costs and losses as tourists were too sceptical to touch our shores in fear of their lives?

Were the costs counted as social media made it to trend that the government was quick to act in accordance to the expectations of its constituencies? How do they declare that “enough is enough”, did they not take too long to reach this destination that the rest of us had arrived at many years ago?

I cannot gather enough courage to take part in the 16 days of activism. This is because I believe this is not a programme that should have a start and an end date – this is an ever continuous conversation that should be ever ringing in our ears.

I find it appalling that in a society riddled with violence, we are asked to declare “enough is enough” for only 16 days. This exercise has been reduced to a gimmick.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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