The global coronavirus outbreak has forced South Africans to revisit some of the most important social ills we have been facing as a country. These are inclusive of, but not limited to, the senseless killings of black people which resulted in the global #BlackLivesMatter protest. We have also witnessed a spate of violence and murder that is directed at female bodies in South Africa. These brutal killings and violent behavior towards women can be traced throughout South Africa’s violent history. But what stands out is the fact that South Africa is amongst the few countries that top the global statistics with regards to femicide.

Many a time, when we discuss the scourge of femicide in South Africa there are other discourses that seem to arise from this social ill. What surfaces is the question of whether we are dealing with femicide, gender based-violence, intimate partner violence or openly just homicide. Whatever arguments that may arise from this discourse, do not entirely attempt to find interventions to the social ill that is femicide. It remains just as a public discourse that seeks to erase the fact that females are the target of the violence, and more often, sadly, this violence is administered by males. So for as long as the argument continues, stats continue to project that a woman is killed every four hours in South Africa.

The term femicide is used in regard to “ the murder of women or girls for gender-based reasons”. When a woman is killed, she is most likely to be murdered by an intimate power.  Seedat, van Niekerk, Jewkes, Sufta, and Ratele in Violence and Injuries in South Africa: Prioritizing an Agenda for Prevention, observed that a distinct feature of violence in South Africa is its gendered nature, with males disproportionately affected both as perpetrators as well as victims of violence.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest homicide rates with 20 000 people murdered every year and stats prove that the government is struggling to curb crime. 57% of gender-based murders are done by intimate partners thus making South Africa’s femicide rate five times more than the global rate. Accordingly, one can assume, based on the femicide statistics that women, in South Africa, are endangered as a demographic. Gender-based violence cannot be attributed to a single factor however, but an interplay of individual, community, economic, cultural and religious factors interacting at different levels of society.

With all the statistics drawn together and pointing in one direction, it is perhaps safe to conclude that we are facing a nightmare. If we are still caught wanting, perhaps it would be worth our time to look at the recent emergence and rise of cases relating to the killing of women during a global pandemic. Though we might not, at this stage, be able to access all the statistics that relate to the killing of females since the inception of the lockdown, there is still evidence to suggest that indeed we are dealing with a pandemic within a pandemic. Of course, there are many causal factors of and that relates to the femicide. Amongst many, lies the fact that the lockdown caused quite a few layoffs, forcing many to be locked in with their abusers on a 24hour basis. This subjects them to continuous abuse and maltreatment until such time that they are either found dead or industries open up and ease the burden of having to negotiate through violence on a daily basis.

But of course these recent spats are not stand alone events. There is a consistent timeline that these events can be traced through. What has been consistent also is the fact that year in year out, civil society mobilizes itself to speak out against the killing of women, as we have seen in the Total Shut Down in 2019 and the National call for demonstration against GBV in all major cities of the country a month or two ago. In previous years we have seen some of the most cruel incidents that broke South Africans’ hearts. Such include the brutal murder and violation of the body of Uyinene Mretywana, Karabo Mokoena and that of Jesse Hess. There has also been a disturbing trend, of late, where pregnant women are killed in horrific manners and in some cases, women are killed along with their children.

These cases are pure proof of the fact that women are not safe in South Africa and that the country is on a continuous downward spiral. The lack of justice in such cases also leaves much to be desired and sends a message that crime is not punishable in South Africa, let alone the murder of women. South Africans are indeed living in nightmarish conditions and femicide is indeed South Africa’s nightmare, the sooner we respond to it the better. Otherwise we will find ourselves entrapped in the web of this social ill that is femicide for years to come.

The recent brutal murder of George Floyd, an African American in the United States of America by a police officer sparked a debate about racism against black people around the world. This gruesome act of police brutality blew the cap off racial tensions that existed as well as institutionalised racial profiling by law enforcement officials in the United States.

In order to understand the context of the development and relevance of the black lives matter movement in Africa, we need to explore certain key events in the continents history. These will enable us to unpack and understand why a continent which is so rich in minerals and natural resources finds itself within the clenches of abject poverty. The starting point for this crucial debate would be an evaluation of the role played by imperialism from the 1870’s to the 1900’s, the channelling of African wealth to its former colonizers and how ongoing conflict further worsens the condition and standard of life for Africans. 

Imperialism is defined as a policy of extending a country’s influence and power through colonisation, use of military force and other means. In 1884 a conference held in Berlin, set the wheels in motion for the legitimisation of the partition and scramble for Africa by European countries. Imperialism had worked its way into every aspect of life in Africa. African people’s social norms, political organisation and cultural way of life were all disrupted.

Africa was categorically classed as being backwards and home to a barbaric inferior race. This is the racial outlook through which the narrative of white supremacy and black inferiority became the foundation for institutional racism. This racial distinction and class hierarchy indoctrinated the black man into accepting a status of being second class citizen with no form of freedom or civil rights. No other people on earth had been systematically trained to hate themselves like black man. African culture has been white washed to the point of almost no existence. European colonies built schools that would teach western culture and religion.

Cornell West in race matters refers to Nihilism as “the lived experiences of coping with a life of horrifying meaningless, hopelessness and lovelessness”. This resonates with much of what is happening and what has happened previously to black people in Africa. The black nation was subjected to the most brutal and inhumane treatment in the form of slavery and the slave trade which became the norm in many countries that were colonised in Africa. The history of colonisation and the looting of African resources for industrial production in Europe, was built on the blood and sweat of black people. The extraction of rubber in the Congo saw many black people lose their lives and others who did not meet their daily targets for rubber either killed or their hands chopped off. Rubber was a highly valued commodity at the time and the Congo was wealthy in this respect. In the Congo the mass killings and blatant act of cruelty lead to the population decreasing to half its size. This asserts the stance of the unequal distribution of power between those who own the means of production and those who offer up their labour for a wage.

Currently there are 15 African countries that are involved in war, or experiencing post war conflict and tension.  At the helm of these wars are the rich natural resources that these poor countries hold, for example oil, timber, diamonds and gold and the presence of foreign extraction companies and their corrupt dealings with the governments of these countries. The wars in Africa, are to a greater extent blamed on tribal conflicts, but the real truth of the matter is that this is simply a tactic to divert attention from the fact that these wars are created and sustained for the main purpose of robbing people of their country’s natural resources.

The conflicts going on in Africa have led to many human rights violations.  Armed groups in Somalia, Mali, Nigeria and elsewhere launched indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including killings and mass abductions which in turn leads to displacements in large numbers. Those who are tasked with protecting civilians (state security forces) from harm often respond to such violations by unleashing the same kinds of human rights violation and torture and enforced disappearances.

The leadership of many African countries rule\govern by proxy, in that their sole mandate is to ensure that the interests of the elite are looked after at the expense of the mass majority who live in abject poverty. The current infrastructure is crumbling as tenders are awarded to those who are close to politicians. The public health care systems are in shambles. Service delivery protests have become the only way in which people can have their concerns addressed.

In recent years we are seeing an increase in a few black people moving up the corporate ladder and piercing through the glass ceiling which acts as a barrier to the upward mobility of black people. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that it has been smashed entirely. Most of the debates around black lives matter become diluted with some people arguing that all lives matter. The reason for the relevance in black lives matter is due to the fact that perpetrators for crimes against black people only get away with a slap on the wrist. The argument that all lives matter seeks to divert attention from the fact that black people are still very much marginalised and poverty stricken. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an illustration of the former, where we saw leaders coming together to advocate for reconciliation instead of retribution for the crimes committed against black people under the system of apartheid. We also saw how King Leopold’s bloodshed in Africa went unpunished

Recently racism has taken a more covert approach in that it is more subtle than public. Makhaya Ntini also blew the lid on the racism he experienced as a black cricket player in South Africa and rallied behind the black lives matter movement.

If we are to truly deal with race matters we need to be aware of all factors that contribute to the perpetuation of racial supremacy and domination. Africa needs to be left alone to deal with African problems the African way, without interference from external powers. Affirmative action cannot continue to be enforced in countries where the majority of the population is made up of black people. Africa should work towards developing industries that extract and convert raw materials into final products. The late Thomas Sankara stressed the idea that Africa can be self reliant and that dependence on foreign aid instils the beggar mentality.

Complied by 

Tshepang Pitsi