Afrique du sud : COSATU NW condemns barbaric actions against women

The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West have noted with concern the increase in the spate of woman killings and the increased rate of woman abuse and rape in the province.

It seems as if this is a monthly activity, that in the North West a woman is killed, raped or violently abused and there is a low rate of conviction of the perpetrators of these barbaric actions.

The coming Sunday is marked as Mother’s Day and some children will have to enjoy this day without their mother because some barbarians have decided to take their mother’s life.

As COSATU we believe that no child deserves to be an orphan unless it is due to circumstances beyond our control, not because somebody has acted like a barbarian.

We have seen the killing of a woman by a husband in Mafikeng due to greed. We also saw the raping of a seventeen year old girl by seven men and a murder of a young girl by a men and his girlfriend. And all this happens due to the uncivilised actions and barbaric beliefs of these perpetrators.

As COSATU we are worried about what could be the root courses of all these actions and want to call on the government to investigate this kind of actions, as they do not represent our province very well.

Very soon the North West will be labelled the province of woman abusers, woman killers and children rapists.

This province is faced with critical challenges of racial killings and racial abuse of farm workers and their children. Their women are abused by farmers. Now it us as Africans, killing and raping each other.

As COSATU we are taking up a strong campaign to defend our children and our women against anybody who takes advantage of our poor justice system, which is representing those who are in power of money.

COSATU calls on all men of the province to act like real men. Real men protect their families. Real men protect their communities. Real men protect women. Real men do not kill. Real men do not abuse.

COSATU NW condemns all these actions with the contempt they deserve.

We call on all our members, the locals of the federation and all COSATU affiliates to join all the action that will be led by the federation in the next two weeks.