#TotalShutdown has been hijacked by destructive forces

Not considering the cries from many people demonstrating against the unfulfilled promises made in exchange for their votes, the modern-day use of the phrase “total shutdown” deviates from the original.

The concept rose to prominence in 2018, when cases of femicide in South Africa became a conversational piece.

A group of women mobilised to act against the daily slaughter of women and children, pushed to do so because they felt a government, policing system and justice system were repeatedly failing victims.

Fast-forward to 2019 and you see a service delivery protest at every turn.

Public groups disrupt the business of the day in many communities, crying out against the lack of action by the elected governing bodies. They burn tyres and threaten the peace of the day, shut down communities with acts of criminality.

These movements have tainted the cause of the original #TotalShutdown movement.

No longer is the name synonymous with the fight for the protection of the right to life by women in South Africa.

Now, when one hears the phrase, one immediately assumes a community is under siege. The very behaviour of these groups goes against the core principle of the very constitutional rights that they use as a term of reference for the advancement of their cause.

I am bitterly disappointed that while as women we felt failed by the community, the justice department and the men and women who could lend the power of their voices to our struggle, a group was born with a name identical to ours, but its vision is worlds apart.

Its destructiveness is far reaching and once again it seems the voice of the woman has been overshadowed.

The total shutdown tag has its identity mistaken for a cause not even remotely close to its mandate and, once again, women and their cries are relegated to the back burner.

We cannot give it up and must continue the fight.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.