The protest was triggered by the murder last week of 19-year-old University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana -- one of the regular incidents of femicide in a nation notorious for its grim crime statistics. A woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa, according to police data.
The killing of Mrwetyana, who was raped and bludgeoned to death at a post office in an upmarket suburb of Cape Town, followed the murder of champion boxer Leighandre Jegels, 25, who was allegedly shot by an ex-boyfriend who had a restraining order against him. Before that, there was Meghan Cremer, an avid horse rider who was allegedly killed by three men as she left her farm outside of Cape Town.
More than a thousand people were involved in the protest, bearing placards including one that simply said: “Stop Killing Us.” On Twitter and Facebook, women called for action and suggested ideas including carrying pepper spray and taking self-defense classes, to imposing a curfew on men.
With the protesters having gathered twice during the day, security teams moved to put up fencing around the conference center’s entrances and shut down all but one access point. This meant rerouting WEF delegates and discouraging them from gathering at windows to look at the action in the street. “We’re here to support the women who are victims of sexual violence,” Erin Connolly, one of the protesters gathered outside, said as the crowd chanted “how many more.”
South Africa is a whole lot of mess
ReplyDeleteThis is serious.
ReplyDeleteThis south africa are full of trouble. shits
ReplyDeleteSouth Africa fast becoming a shadow of its self
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...Hopeless people killing defense less women
ReplyDeleteThis sout Africa is just like a menace of non eye gods
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...Am just short of words for dis fellows
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment...you guys should fear God , while killing innocent people ok wen the anger of God wil intervene....
ReplyDeleteBlacks in SA are mostly lazy, poor and unorganize
ReplyDeleteThat's just d truth
Deleteafter they will say Nigeria's are drug dealers. who is now killing their women? God help Nigeria's.
ReplyDeleteEnter your comment... t
ReplyDeletehis is so painful for killing our brothers and sisters,our father and mother