Thank you very much, Chairperson. Ka segage?u re re sekata ke lenaba le legolo la set?haba. I repeat: Sekata ke lenaba le legolo la set?haba. A rapist is an enemy to the nation. I repeat: A rapist is an enemy to the nation.
Great strides have been made in dealing with the high levels of inequality in South Africa. The South African Constitution provides for equality in all respects, including issues relating to gender equality.
Despite our progressive Constitution, however, we live in a country where gender-based violence has become an everyday occurrence. I am sure we have been listening to the speeches here. A number of examples have been given of things that we do not like in our communities regarding the way women are treated by men. In fact, we should not be shy to say that there are a lot of men who are actually guilty of violence against women. Some are even proud to be experts in giving their wives a hiding! We do not want to hear such things.
Gender violence is the most pervasive yet least recognised human rights abuse in the world. Its main characteristic is that it involves power imbalances where, more often than not, men are the perpetrators and women are the victims. Every day we read and hear stories of men raping women and girls. The media is also littered with stories of men ill-treating and physically abusing their partners.
For example, during this debate last year I shared with the House the shocking story of a pregnant 16-year-old girl, Simphiwe Mmola, a Grade 10 pupil from Mankweng village in Limpopo, who was allegedly stabbed to death by her jealous 26-year-old boyfriend. Yesterday's Star newspaper ran a front-page story of an incident that happened on 3 January 2012, when a woman was allegedly tortured before being gang-raped by three men on the instructions of her husband! We know the story.
These despicable crimes show disdain for ...