Women's Rights

A recent text message from Becca:

hi girls! i miss home! last night we had a bit of a family dispute @ house. long story.. Stephen's [host cousin living with Becca] sis left gran & has been gone 4 weeks. Gran has been with us. They found Stephen's sister last nite @ boyfriends. older bro brought her here late last night while we were sleepn & uncle ripped some of her hair out! thats when we woke up. boyfriend threatened older bro with gun. matome [host brother], jack [worker of family living with family], older bro, uncle, took sis back 2 grans last nite (where we had xmas party) & beat up boyfriends ( i guess there r many) 2day jack & matome said they should have killed the boys, then matome told me he would shoot his gf or wife if they ever "made a mistake"! ahhh! hope u r bettr!

Becca's life is more like living in the news stories from the Sun [a sensationalist newspaper that is extremely popular in my village], but her message depicts a problems in South Africa: women's rights and domestic disputes. In South Africa, a woman is shot dead by a current or former partner every 18 hours.

The problems extend beyond boyfriends and girlfriends. Every 26 seconds a woman is raped in South Africa. Of those whom press charges, seven percent of cases reach conviction. Look at the trial of former Vice President Jacob Zuma. He was acquitted of rape charges on May 8th, but the trial itself conjured memories of the OJ Simpson trial back home. Every South African watched the trial on TV and knew the outcome. Learners skipped school to see the eight hours of coverage on SABC2 on the day of the verdict. Citizens are divided on his innocence and there is still talk of him becoming the next president of South Africa (although he still faces corruption charges).

Throughout the trial, the plantiff was held in the witness protection program, endured heckling and insults -- and saw her image burnt as she made her way into and out of court, and had to listen to her past sexual history discussed and displayed for the court and nation. She used to consider Zuma a father-figure. From him she heard that her skirt was an invitation to sex and although he did not wear a condom, his shower after intercourse protected him from HIV infection (the plantiff is HIV positive).

Men usually rape to show power over women. Including power over the former oppressor and over women who have become educated and hold positions of power and respect in the community. When I discuss it with teachers, they usually explain to me how rape is a woman's fault and that men are just being men. I tell them it's not.

Despite the high levels of violence in general and against women, I feel safe. There are a few men that I know to avoid but everyone else looks out for my safety and well-being. In the village I can't walk outside my door without yells of 'Lethabo!' and greeting multiple grannies. In town, waiters, ice cream scoopers, grocery store clerks, well, almost everyone, seems to know where I stay and why I'm in South Africa. They are looking out for me and I look out for myself.