Cosmo City’s women raise their voices against GBV on Women’s Day with a march
Local women march against GBV on International Women's Day in Cosmo City.
The women’s forum in Cosmo City organised a walkabout to raise awareness of gender-based violence in the community in honour of Women’s Day.
Hearts were filled with pain and grief as they raised banners reading, ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ and ‘Stop Killing Us!’ from Sgodiphola to the Multipurpose Community Centre to put an end to the practice of killing children and women.
To spread the word to the general public, stakeholders including the Cosmo City Women’s Forum, Honeydew SAPS, Sanca, Department of Social Development, the family of the deceased Ntebeng Manzi murdered in her home, and several more participated in the march.
Pinky Ncikana, a leader in Ward 100’s women’s GBV, faith, and NGO groups stated, “This march aims to eradicate and speak to the community at large to stop abusing and killing women. And we say women should also stop hiding behind their tears and rather talk about their issues with other women so that they can be assisted.”
Honeydew police’s Constable Mokgoba Motlopi from social crime prevention said that women need to learn to protect and assist one another instead of making one’s tears a mockery.
“Victims are silent because other women are the ones who make another woman feel ashamed to stand up and say ‘I live in an environment of domestic violence being an everyday thing’. We should do away with such stigma and learn to protect each other.”
She added that women should speak up about their abuses and learn to never close domestic violence cases.
“Let’s speak up without the fear of who is going to say what when I tell my GBV story. The police will not be able to help victims of GBV if the very same victims decide to withdraw their cases at the police station. We encourage all to help one another and report cases of GBV.”
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