Members of Baphi Abafazi, the newly formed women’s organisation in Gugulethu, converged at JL Zwane Presbyterian Church in the area on Saturday 4 June to talk about gender based violence (GBV).
The organisation was established three weeks ago to fight and support women who are the victims of GBV.
Everyone wore black clothes to mourn for all the women who suffered and died due to GBV.
Mpho Malgas, spokesperson for the organisation, described the event as a platform for women to speak out and to raise their concerns. She said it is the start of great things to come. “The organisation is only three weeks old. It was established after the brutal killing of Namhla Mtwa at Mtata in the Eastern Cape. The organisation is nationwide,” said Malgas.
Mtwa was allegedly shot and murdered inside her car by an unknown suspect when she arrived at her home in Mtata on Thursday 21 April.
Malgas said as women they felt that it was time to stand up against GBV.
“Namhla is not the first person to be killed by her lover and we believe is not the last person. As women we decided to stand up and say enough is enough. We are tired of the gruesome killings of women by the people who pretend to love them,” she explained. She said they appealed to all the women to be united and fight the scourge.
Malgas stated that the concept of establishing the organisation was initiated by concerned women who met on social media. One of the GBV survivors, Nandipha Madolo, described the organisation as a mouthpiece of many vulnerable people. She said she was abused by her late husband emotionally. “He used to call me names and sometimes left me in the house with children. It took time for me to regain my confidence,” she said.
However, Madolo stated that GBV experiences differ from person to person. She said in her situation her husband sometimes used to insult her using things that she used to tell him.
Malgas emphasised that they also need men to join the organisation.