OMM Redaksiyası
The discovery of the battered and partly burned body of 38-year-old mother Dineo Motapane has intensified fear and anger over violence against women in South Africa.
Motapane was last seen alive on Sunday. Her body was later found in a residential area of Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg. Her family identified her remains two days later, according to the BBC.
“How do you explain that your parent was brutally murdered, dumped in a field, and just left there, discarded like a piece of rubbish?” her aunt, Nokwanda Matshikiza, told the BBC.
Nine women found dead since July
Motapane’s death was one of three similar discoveries in Ekurhuleni this week. In total, nine murdered women have been found in comparable circumstances in the region since July.
Most of the victims were in their 20s or 30s and had suffered extreme violence before their deaths. Police have said they do not know whether the cases are connected or whether they are investigating a serial killer.
Only one arrest has been made in connection with the deaths. No one has been detained over the killings of Motapane, Itumeleng Kekana or the other six women found in Ekurhuleni.
Kekana, a 32-year-old shopkeeper, disappeared in July. Her body was found 17 days later, badly bruised, partially clothed and dumped on a bridge, leaving her young daughter without a mother.
Calls to recognise femicide
The deaths have renewed a national debate over South Africa’s high levels of gender-based violence. Police statistics show that 5,427 people were murdered between April and June this year, although official data does not distinguish victims by gender.
The South African Human Rights Commission said 569 women were killed during that period—an average of six a day—and that a further 1,052 women were victims of attempted murder.
The government declared gender-based violence a national disaster last November following weeks of protests, including a “Women’s Shut Down” march during South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit.
Amnesty International has called for femicide to be recognised as a separate crime. Its country director, Shenilla Mohamed, said recognising the targeted killing of women would help authorities measure the scale of the problem and address failures to protect women and girls.
“Every day that femicide remains unrecognised as a crime is a failure to confront the targeted killing of women,” Mohamed said.
Residents say they no longer feel safe
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to leave “no stone unturned” in investigating the Ekurhuleni killings, saying the country must defend the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls.
Activists and residents, however, say the authorities must do more to protect communities. Lebogang Ramafoko, an advocate for gender and social justice, linked the violence to longstanding social and historical traumas in South Africa.
In Kempton Park, where five of the nine bodies were found, members of the Girl2Woman Foundation have held protests. Activist Lumka Maqhubela said women were frightened and could not be expected simply to remain more vigilant.
“We are not safe anywhere, not in our homes, not in the streets,” she said.
Residents described checking their surroundings whenever they leave home, while some said children were afraid to go to shops alone. “In South Africa, women are not safe any more,” 20-year-old Lerato Mzizi said.
