Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube used her keynote address at the Uyinene Mrwetyana Memorial Lecture held at the Kingswood College, Makhanada in the Eastern Cape, to make a call to action, for strengthened efforts towards the protection of children across the country.
According to Gwarube, children are the most vulnerable and therefore implored on society to ensure their safety.
In memory of Mrwetyana who was raped and murdered at a post office in Cape Town in 2019, Gwarube expressed concern that the tragedy she suffered, remains a reality for many other women and children in the country.
” Uyinene’s tragic death was not just an isolated act of violence.
It was a painful reminder of the war being waged against women in this country every single day.
South Africa has among the highest femicide rates in the world.
Too many young women never get to walk across the graduation stage, enter the workplace, or pursue their dreams, not because they are not capable, but because their lives are stolen from them by men who feel they have a right to their bodies and indeed to their lives,” said Gwarube.
She further emphasized that the death of Mrwetyana, and the deaths of countless other women like her, represent the lived reality of too many women in the country.
Mrwetyana’s memorial lecture comes in a time when the country is enraged by a rape incident that involves a 7-year-old girl and Gwarube simply couldn’t ignore the case.
“This week I learnt of a young child, Cwecwe from eMatatiela, not too far from here.
This child was brutally violated, and her perpetrators are yet to be found and prosecuted.
Schools are meant to be places of safety. Places of learning. Places where parents send their children to get an education and not be raped.
I know this particular case is receiving attention from the provincial government and the South Africa Police Service at a national level”, said Grwaube.
The Minster continued to confirm the biggest worry of many South Africans, when she acknowledged that government has fallen short and continues to do so in combating the scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide.
“As Government, we have a duty to ensure that our policies and practices protect young women.
We must strengthen GBV education in schools, creating safer learning environments, and we must work across sectors to tackle gender-based violence at its roots.
But these interventions are coming once unimaginable harm has been created”, Gwarube indicated.
She concluded her address by appealing to men to get involved and stand for women and children, adding that a strong stance against abuse coming from men will make a difference.
