KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli has urged men to play their part to keep women safe and protected.
Ntuli on Monday officiated the launch of Men’s Health Month in Durban, which included a law enforcement parade by the police. The parade started at King Dinuzulu Park, and concluded at the Durban City Hall.
The parade aimed to promote positive male behaviour and address the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
Ntuli emphasised the important role played by religion and culture in curbing GBV.
“It is very shameful that the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide has reached worrisome proportions in our country. Even in war, since time immemorial, hurting women and children has always been seriously frowned upon.
“Men who attack women have always been regarded as cowards. Even in rites of passage, conceptually, boys are taught to respect women… If this is no longer happening, those rites of passage violate tradition,” Ntuli said.
According to statistics released last year, in KwaZulu-Natal, Inanda is leading in terms of GBV related crimes, with 641 cases recorded in the period of April 2022 to March 2023.
The cases include rape, sexual assault, assault with a purpose to inflict grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, common assault, and murder.
According to the same report, the top 30 police stations in the province recorded 10 442 cases of GBV-related crimes.
Ntuli believes that ignorance, myths, fallacies and falsehoods also lead to high levels of GBV.
“It is a major fallacy that men are made for leadership. Those men who believe this myth are likely to unnecessarily feel emasculated by the mere occupation of leadership positions by women…. We need to teach our male children that women are not their… toys or their punching bags, but are their equal partners.”
Ntuli urged men to ensure that they do not abuse any leadership role that they are given.
“We must [also] teach our children that washing dishes and clothes; cleaning the house, and cooking are not gender roles but life skills. While such an approach is essential for our male children’s own development and readiness for the future, it also ensures that as they grow and meet women, they do not attempt to relegate them to their servants,” the Premier said.
Role of law enforcement
Ntuli impressed upon law enforcement to take seriously the responsibility placed on them when it comes to the responsibility of protecting vulnerable groups.
“When a woman is a victim of domestic violence, she relies on the paramedics in specific cases and the police, who are expected to make arrests and to process and effect protection orders. When these women walk, or, sometimes sadly, crawl into police stations, they expect justice and healing.
“They do not expect negotiations to be brokered by police officers. They do not expect judgment when wearing revealing clothes and they do not expect lethargy and indifference,” Ntuli said.
To show how serious he is about the safety and security of the people in the province, when he was sworn into the task of being KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Ntuli announced that the Community Safety and Liaison function would move to the Office of the Premier. – SAnews.gov.za
