NUMSA CONDEMNS MINISKIRT SEXUAL ATTACK AT NOORD TAXI RANK

3 January 2011

The backward, chauvinistic  and ugly scene that took place at the notorious Noord Taxi Rank as reported in today's edition of the Sowetan newspaper 'Teens in new miniskirt attacks at taxi rank', in relation to two teens wearing miniskirts being harassed by taxi rank lumpens or the dangerous class should be condemned by all (see report).

As NUMSA we strongly condemn the barbaric behavior which has no place in our society. We firmly of the view that taxi ranks are public places and there should be used to humiliate or demean our people.

The action of these lumpens that women should not wear miniskirts during in public, including Taxi Ranks boarders on societal patriarchy and relegation of women into cheap sexual commodities as fostered and entrenched by Capitalist system. The video footage captured via a cellphone and now being widely circulated by these lumpens is a  setback in our struggle of reversing the humiliation and oppression endured by our women as a result of their sexual and class position in society.

The right of women to freedom of movement, freedom from sexual harassment and the right to dignity in our society can n ever be determined by the clothes that a woman chooses to wear.

The Taxi drivers and owners should have been conscious of the barbaric violence meted against women and high levels of rape incidents, from mainly working class communities.

Our silence as commuters or public transport users have a potential to give license to this most dangerous class, the rotten social scum in our society, located in the taxi industry to take advantage and harass women in taxi ranks or elsewhere for wearing a miniskirts.

The loud silence by Taxi bodies  in publicly rebuking and condemning the harassment of these two women is unfortunate and disgusting. This silence reinforces our suspicions that the Taxi bodies are being consciously or unconsciously being submissive to patriarchal and chauvinistic tendencies shared by some within our society.

Statement issued by Castro Ngobese, NUMSA National Spokesperson, January 3 2011

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