16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse #GenderBasedViolence #Justice

 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse!!!

Today the 10th of December 2023 marks an end of another 16 Days Of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse campaign which started on the 25th of November 2023. This is an annual campaign which has been running for years now as far back as my high school days in the early 2000s. I think none of us can genuinely dismiss its importance interms of raising the awareness and making sure that the plight of the vulnerable is brought to the attention of all. However,of late I have found myself wondering and asking questions about the effectiveness of this campaign,what analytical framework is being used to measure its success?. Has this campaign not degenerated to a mere annual ritual?

We have to ask these questions as a way of ensuring that the campaign remains effective and is making the necessary contribution in the fight against this scourge . While legislation and its effective implementation are key,the two cannot be the the be it all when dealing with this crisis.What we ought to realise and come into terms with is that here we are dealing with a societal crisis engineered by Colonialism and Apartheid which destroyed the African Family Structure which has meant the loss of core value systems and principles which were a glued that kept the African Society intact. Colonialism and later Apartheid which both are violent systems of oppression uprooted Africans through dispossession of the land and livestock. This act had a dire impact as the Europeans Colonialists turned African men into slaves and labourers ,especially with the opening of commercial  mining which need Black labor.

African men were compelled by the economic conditions to leave homes and villages go to work in the mines since they had been dispossessed of their land and cattle. The Colonialists had introduced all sorts of taxes as a way of forcing Africans to sell their labor(through slavery) so as to be able to pay the taxes. This led to a destruction of the African Family Structure as fathers left homes and villages to seek employment in the mines,Mothers had to step up and be mothers and fathers to the children in an attempt to close the vacuum left by the Fathers. These men in the mines were subjected to the worst forms of labour relations and horrible conditions of living  the hostels,hostels which became symbols of violence by the Colonial State and Mine Bosses. These men we only allowed to visit their families once or at best twice a year,they became strangers to their wives and children,they nolonger knew how to relate to their families and had gotten accustomed to a life of violence and abuse in the mines and hostels.

It is important for us to provide this historical account not an attempt to create excuses but to dig deep and find the root cause of the crisis. Any attempt at solving the Gender Based Violence but dismisses this historical account will then fall flat as it has been the case. We must refuse to be pressurized into reducing this crisis into a case of few bad men and failing Police & Judiciary system.

We need a deliberate program to address and undo the Legacy of Colonialism and Apartheid as a way towards a permanent solution is curbing the scourge of Gender Based Violence.

By

Teboho Sekhosana

Political and Social Activist

Labour Law Consultant

0844361494

sekhosanateboho9@gmail.com