The uMkhonto weSizwe Women’s League (MKWL) national secretary, Lindi Mtshali, has expressed sorrow for the brutal killing of two women in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
The 65-year-old grandmother and nine-year-old girl were murdered at their home in Soweto-on-Sea.
Mtshali said there is an urgent need to declare gender-based violence (GBV) a state of emergency and to improve community protection systems, including trauma counselling, safe houses, and policing that puts survivors at the centre.
Impact of GBV
“A home, which should be a sanctuary of safety and nurture, became a site of terror. Their absence leaves a void that words cannot fill, yet their lives demand to be remembered. They were not faceless victims. They were loved, carried dreams, and were integral to the fabric of their community.
“To reduce them to numbers is to betray them twice. Thus … perpetuating the systemic silencing of victims of gender-based violence and femicide. This culture of violence continues to threaten mothers, sisters and daughters across the nation,” said Mtshali.
She also called for the government to invest in creating independent monitoring forums that should be spearheaded by women and children. Mtshali believes this is a step to invest in prevention.
She also called on law enforcement to transparently share details of this murder case with the public.
National crisis
She said the MKWL will not sit idle while there is a cry for the protection of women and children. This cry is in schools, homes, communities, and all other places where they should be feeling safe.
“Gender-based violence is not merely an unfortunate reality; it is a national crisis. The MK Women’s League reiterates its call for the declaration of a national state of emergency on GBV. Anything less is a betrayal of the millions of women and children who live in fear daily.
“The promise of the government of national unity as a rebirth for South Africa rings hollow for black women and children when graves continue to be dug for those whose only crime was living in a country that fails to protect them,” said Mtshali.
