Here are exciting updates about activism that took place today in South Africa and Afghanistan.
South Africa: Six weeks ago, two teenagers wearing miniskirts were harassed and groped by a group of 50-60 men at a taxi rank. This was reminiscent of a sexual assault on a woman wearing a miniskirt in the same area in 2008. That attack led to a huge march. Well, the most recent bout of harassment has too.
“Hundreds of South Africans have marched in Johannesburg [today]…The organisers said they wanted to end “patriarchal views still entrenched in parts of South Africa’s society”.
South Africa has one of the world’s highest incidences of rape.
Some men, particularly from traditional and rural backgrounds, believe women should not wear revealing clothing, says the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.
The ruling African National Congress Women’s League said it had called the march to emphasise that women had the right wear whatever they wanted without fear of victimisation.
Several cabinet ministers and the governor of Gauteng province were amongst those taking part.
During the march, Women’s Minister Lulu Xingwana warned that she would close down the taxi rank if such harassment continued.”
It’s encouraging to see so many government officials involved, condemning the harassment. Via Mail and Guardian:
“”The scourge of women abuse threatens to erode many of the hard-earned gains of the liberation struggle. It denies women their birth rights. It condemns them to a life of fear and prevents them from being productive members of society,” said Minister of Women Lulu Xingwana.
Afghanistan: Young Women for Change (YWC) is hosting an art exhibit and poster sale today and tomorrow (2-5 p.m. each day) to raise money to create a safe, harassment-free Internet cafe for women (donate online). Many of the pieces of art and posters address the issue of street harassment in Afghanistan.
They’re also airing a new documentary on street harassment called, “This is My City too,” produced by Anita Haidary, YWC Co-founder and a film student at Mt. Holyoke College in the USA.
