Instead of this year's Women's Day being a relaxed celebration of the rights and virtues of the nation's women, it became an example of the senseless violence meted out against them. Reports of murder and rape cast a dark shadow over the weekend's festivities.
In one of the most shocking incidents, a woman was murdered on Saturday – Women's Day – at Munzhedzi village. Her body was found in a pit toilet at a school in Vleifontein two days later. To make matters worse, her young daughter was raped, allegedly by the same man, after he had ostensibly summoned her to help with the search.
On Friday, a woman was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband, shortly after returning from a school trip. The 35-year-old victim was later found in her home in a pool of blood. Her husband allegedly tried to set the house on fire before fleeing in his car. His vehicle later collided with a bus in the Waterval area and he was arrested at Mavambe village.
At Nkuna's Kraal Mall, a police officer paid dearly for the alleged murder of his wife on Saturday. According to police reports, both the attacker and the victim were police sergeants – one attached to the Thohoyandou K9 unit and the other to the Beit Bridge port of entry. The female victim was visiting the mall with two friends and her six-year-old child when she was confronted by her estranged husband. The couple had been separated for about seven months.
"It is alleged that a heated argument ensued between them, resulting in the husband taking a service firearm and [shooting] the victim in the upper body. When he attempted to run to the vehicle in order to flee the scene, the community, who observed the entire incident, chased and assaulted him, setting him alight next to his vehicle. The vehicle was, as a result, burnt beyond recognition," reads the police statement.
The violence was also not limited to the Vhembe area. In Mankweng, a 40-year-old man was arrested on Monday in connection with the brutal murder of his 32-year-old girlfriend at his residence in Nobody Thakgalang village. The woman was stabbed and probably assaulted with an axe.
"The suspect later attempted suicide at home but failed and subsequently crashed his vehicle near Savanna Mall. He was taken to hospital under police guard. He has since been charged with murder and will soon appear before the Mankweng Magistrate's Court," reads the police statement.
On Monday, a visibly upset Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, visited Tshilidzini Hospital. She celebrated her birthday but wanted it to coincide with the gift of life-changing healthcare for those in need. The Premier planned to spend the week from 11 to 15 August alongside medical specialists at various hospitals across the Vhembe District, providing life-saving surgeries and specialist care to patients who had been on waiting lists for months or even years.
But the news of the past week's senseless killings clearly touched Ramathuba and her entourage. She told nurses at Tshilidzini Hospital that the killings had to be stopped. "I don't know what we can do. Mayors, what must we do with these men? They are not just raping these women, they also brutally murder them," she said.
It is also not just women leaders who seem to be at their wits' end with the brutality meted out against defenceless women and children. Enos Magwabeni, driving force behind the Vhanna Kha Ri Ambe (VKRA) organisation, could barely contain his emotions. In his regular column, he explains that much of the work his organisation does is aimed at addressing the root causes of family violence. VKRA also endeavours to provide some balance, saying that men, too, are often victims.
"[But] how could I speak for men in the face of such brutality?" he said. He then appealed to women to be on the alert. "Satan is on the loose. He walks among us dressed in suits, in police uniforms, in familiar faces – seeking whom he may devour. If you see signs that your husband could harm you, run for your life. It's better to be called a divorcee than to be remembered as a dead woman."
Magwabeni admitted that he was still confused. "GBV is ravaging our society at an alarming rate. I want to believe in balance, in fairness, in the idea that men too suffer. But the evidence around me is overwhelming. And yet, I still ask: is there space to speak for the silent, suffering men – without silencing the cries of women?"