Violence Against Women
Source: The Namibian
The South African opposition on Monday called growing gender-based violence in the country "a national crisis" which "requires decisive and swift action" from the government.
"We simply cannot continue to ignore the fact that rape and murder of women in South Africa has now become a national crisis - one which requires decisive and swift action from our government," said Lindiwe Mazibuko, Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
She was responding to the latest gruesome mutilation and murder of a young woman in Swartruggens, North West Province.
The body of the woman, believed to be aged between 26 and 30, was discovered on Sunday behind a tavern in Swartruggens with her breasts cut off, face smashed with a stone and stomach cut open, North West police said on Monday.
The DA "is both horrified and deeply saddened" by this vicious crime, which is "another reminder of the unrelenting war being waged against the women and children of our country," Mazibuko said.
The latest crime took place amid intensified efforts to curb gender-based violence in the country, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with children and women often becoming easy targets of criminals.
According to official figures, the combined figures of all sexual offences, including rape and indecent assault, indicated an upward trend of 2.1 percent in 2010/11 from 2009/2010.
Cases of murder of women increased by 5.6 percent and sexual offences against children increased by 2.6 percent during this period.
"We have a great deal of work to do to build a society in which women enjoy the same freedoms as men, and can live their lives without fear," Mazibuko said.
"Unspeakable crimes such as this one show us that South Africa is still a deeply patriarchal and broken society. We need to identify interventions which will enable us to fix what is broken in our country and ensure that crimes such as these are never committed again," Mazibuko said.
The DA urged police to swiftly bring to book the perpetrators of this vicious act, Mazibuko said.
Meanwhile, the post mortem of the woman found dead near the Swartruggens shopping complex, confirmed that her heart and lungs were removed, North West police said yesterday.
"It could not be determined if she was raped," said Captain Pelonomi Makau.
On Sunday, the woman's body was found by a passerby. Her abdomen had been cut open.
"Her face was smashed with a stone... Her breasts were cut off and her private parts slightly cut with an unknown sharp instrument," Makau said at the time.
The post mortem was carried out on Monday.
"The victim is unknown and police are appealing to anyone with information of a missing person to contact the Swartruggens Police Station," said Makau.
Lindiwe Mazibuko