Mobilising to fight the scourge of violence against women and children
The latest public and media exposition of a series of grotesque incidents of rape, epitomized by the rape and murder of Anene Booysens in Bredarsdorp, has further underlined one of the most serious challenges facing South African society. This is a moment that requires both a broader societal reflection as well as focus on the organizational challenges posed by this.
The SACP has joined millions of other South Africans in their outrage against the latest incidents of rape. We pledge to continue mobilizing all our structures and our people to confront the scourge of the violence against women and children in all its manifestations.
These incidents of sexual violence against women and children are partly a reflection of some of the very serious challenges of social disintegration facing some of our communities, especially the working class ones. The combination of poverty and patriarchy has often turned anger inward in some of our poorest communities. While the scourge of rape, women and children's abuse faces all communities, it is true that it tends to assume its most violent and grotesque forms in poorer communities.
Whilst sections of our society have often legitimately turned to government to deal with these matters, the SACP rejects the stance of some of the opposition parties, the media and other opportunists who put all the blame on government for the scourge of violence against women and children. The SACP of course supports engagement with government on its strategies to deal with this, but this is a broader societal challenge, that must be tackled as such. It places particular responsibility on the shoulders of especially progressive organized formations in our society, whether they are political, civic, social or economic, including government. Of course government must be robustly engaged around issues such as the necessity for specialized courts or police units that must deal with crimes against women and children. Whether we go this route or not, it is very urgent that the capacity of the criminal justice system is strengthened to deal swiftly and effectively with crimes against women and children.
Indeed for the SACP, the principal structural foundation for violence against women and children is the capitalist system - a system that reproduces, and in fact often thrives on, class, racial and gender inequalities, including reinforcing patriarchy in society. Within this context not only does capitalist exploitation impoverishes workers and their communities, but particularly creates conditions for the super-exploitation of women workers and their diminished status in society. For the SACP the struggle against violence against women must be premised on a broader struggle against capitalism.
It is important that we intensify the struggle to confront the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment in the current period. It is in the context of these challenges that the breeding ground for patriarchy and violence against women is to be found. Much as the struggle to defeat violence against women and children has a moral dimension, but it cannot be won simply on this front. It will in the end be won in organized struggles, led by the working class, for the radical transformation of our socio-economic terrain. But even this struggle on its own will not succeed, unless premised on the organization of women as part of the overall struggle for radical socio-economic transformation.
In order to deal with this scourge it is important that the struggle against violence against women and children becomes an everyday people's struggles rather than something that is periodically highlighted when cases like those of Anene hit the media. Media driven struggles are not capable of a sustained battle against the scourge of violence against women, as it tends to be sensationalist, important as the role of the media is in this struggle. Media driven responses can assist to highlight these cases, but have the limitation of encouraging our people to respond primarily to cases that have been publicized.
The principal challenge for all progressive social and political formations is that of mass mobilization in our communities against violence against women in general, and particularly against the scourge of rape. The ANC's call for the establishment of street committees is one important platform through which we can mobilise local communities and even households in order to conscientise, mobilise against, and expose the perpetrators of violence against women. Women should also be organized to play a prominent role in our street and area committees, so that they themselves become the principal drivers in the transformation of our streets, localities and households. The struggle against violence against women and children must be at the centre of the challenge to rebuild vibrant street and area committees.
The struggle against the scourge of violence against women must also be elevated into all of our sectoral formations and struggles. All of our activists in these formations must ensure that the issue of women's struggles and dignity feature prominently. This means that fighting the scourge of violence in society must be part of the activities of these bodies - whether they be school governing bodies, the churches, civic organization, stokvels, co-operatives, trade union collectives in the workplace, etc. Every terrain of struggle and organized activity must simultaneously become a terrain for intensifying the struggle against violence directed at women.
In the light of the above, particular responsibility rests with the voting district (VD)-based branches of the SACP. These structures are closest to the households in our various communities, and the SACP is deliberately restructuring itself to get closer to our communities. We also expect our branch cadres to actively participate in all the sectoral structures at local level, and also ensure that the issue of women's struggles and dignity is placed at the centre of the activities of these structures. This is in fact the vanguard role that the SACP branch can play at local level.
It is also of absolute importance that we incorporate a strong component on women's struggles, patriarchy and transformation of gender relations into all of our political education activities. Dedicated pamphlets and guidelines must be developed to be studied and used by our own cadre. This will serve a double purpose of empowering our own cadres and well as educating them as some are not themselves innocent on these matters, as well as to develop a commissariat capable of educating communities broadly.
The history of the struggles against women's oppression as well as our own history of the struggle against apartheid tells us that this is a struggle that will be won through hard work on the ground amongst our communities. And it is only a principled co-operation between mobilized communities and state organs that will ultimately defeat the scourge of all forms of violence in our society, including violence against women. It is also on the terrain of fighting violence against women that we must intensify the struggle and propaganda against the capitalist system.
Asikhulume!!
This article by SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande, first appeared in the Party's online journal, Umsebenzi Online.
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