Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba has urged women in abusive marriages to divorce their husbands and protect their lives and those of their children.
Speaking at a Human Rights Day celebration at Makonde Stadium on Friday, Ramathuba said the rate of women and child abuse in the country was unacceptably high. "Children who grow up in abusive households often become abusers themselves as adults. Pack your bags and leave now, before it is too late," she told the women.
She added that the time of staying in an abusive relationship out of fear of being called names was over. "It is better to be called names while you are still alive than to be praised as a brave woman when you are dead," she said.
Ramathuba said they had chosen to celebrate the day at Makonde Stadium to honour the village for producing freedom fighters who had sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the country.
"Amos Mbedzi and Mbulaheni Peter Dambuza Malada were from this village. Plans are already at an advanced stage to rename this stadium the Peter Dambuza Malada Stadium," she said.
The provincial head of the Human Rights Commission, Victor Mavhidula, encouraged people to report human rights violations to the commission. "We have received many complaints about a lack of or poor service delivery in government institutions across the Vhembe District. We have also noted service-delivery issues in three hospitals in the district that require urgent intervention - Tshilidzini Hospital, Siloam Hospital, and Malamulele Hospital," he said.
Mavhidula also highlighted that the commission had received numerous complaints about poor service delivery regarding the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM). "The municipality keeps promising us that they are working on the issues. Last week, they told the commission the pumps would be fixed before Thursday, but when we checked on Thursday evening, nothing had been done," he said.
He added that they had taken the Mogalakwena Municipality to court for failing to deliver services and warned that if the VDM failed to provide residents with clean, drinkable water, the commission would take legal action against them as well.
Thovhele Midiyavhathu Kennedy Tshivhase of the Tshivhase dynasty said having rights did not mean young women should have 10 children with different men simply because they felt it was their body and their right to do as they pleased.
"Who is going to support all those children? Rights come with responsibilities, and your rights should not infringe on other people's rights. You can't keep having children without knowing how you are going to support them," he said.