Female lawyers speak against women abuse

The South African Women Lawyers Association (Sawla) in Limpopo has noted with disbelief and disgust the recent allegations of sexual harassment emanating from political organisations, corporate entities, learning institutions and others in South Africa.
Sawla Limpopo adds its voice to the call from other corporate and individual human rights activists to clamp down on the phenomenon that elevates a woman into a sexual object to be used by men.
According to the Association from classrooms and lecture halls to the workplace, women are able to competitively match their male counterparts.
Sawla Limpopo Deputy Chairperson Charlotte Mahlatji was quoted to have said: “Women are capable of performing work programmes assigned to them just as efficiently as men. It is with regret that in 2019, 25 years into our democracy, we still see instances were women are subjected to earning their keep or facing the axe.”
“Violence against women takes different forms: physical, sexual, economic or psychological. After all, this causes violation of human dignity and human rights .Sawla Limpopo condemns these unacceptable acts and calls on the relevant authorities to stop dragging their feet and act swiftly. We also call on the institutions responsible for the empowerment of women to rise up to the challenge and let it be known that enough is enough.”Mahlatji said.
She advises that women should approach institutions such as People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa); the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC); Sonke Gender Justice; Sawla and other organisations for assistance. “This will help women to break the silence and cycle of abuse in our communities. The pain and challenges we are still facing as women derail our vision of a free and fair republic without any gender divide.”
She further stated that South Africa has stood and fought against racial divides, and now they face an emanating challenge that seeks to discriminate based on gender. “Young women are refused the right to take their equitable place in society if they decline to perform certain degrading favours for their male superiors. We have also heard of girls at learning institutions who fail to progress because they refuse to submit to male teachers’ advances.”
“Sawla Limpopo calls on all members of society to stand together in fighting this atrocious behaviour by members of our community. Women and children are vulnerable members of our society and it is the responsibility of society at large to speak out and stop sexual harassment and abuse of any form and at any level of our society, regardless of nationality,” Mahlatji added.
Chairperson of the association Mpho Kgabi said they need to make certain that they achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5. “Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Unfortunately, one in five women and girls between the ages of 15-49 have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period, and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. Progress is occurring regarding harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation, which has declined by 30% in the past decade, but there is still much work to be done to completely eliminate such practices.”
“Though Sawla focuses mostly on empowering female lawyers, the Sawla mandate also aims to empower and encourage any girl child and woman that they have a significant role to play within society and that they too can achieve any goal they put their mind to. Sawla Limpopo further aims to address challenges faced by girls, boys and women in Limpopo, and has ongoing projects in the province. These take the form of public lectures, community outreach projects, mentoring of University Student Chapters, mentoring of girl children, donations of sanitary pads and donations of school shoes to both girls and boys,” Kgabi concluded.