Pietermaritzburg is a city steeped in faith. Churches, mosques and temples are woven into its everyday life. Yet faith alone has not shielded women from violence, or from the deeper patterns of control and oppression.
What is missing is the collective will to confront the toxic masculinities that thrive, even within sacred spaces, and that have long been protected, both overtly and covertly. Outrage is not enough. Mourning is not enough.
To confront gender-based violence, we must pay attention to our words, actions and silences, and how they may allow harm to continue. Life resumes, as if deadly violence against women is an unfortunate but inevitable part of the landscape. But it is not inevitable.
Read Full Article on The Witness
[paywall]
It is enabled. Femicide is not a string of isolated tragedies. It is the most brutal expression of a system that normalises violence against women every day, often invisibly.
At its core is patriarchy: A system that elevates male dominance and demands female submission. Patriarchy is not always loud or visibly violent. It is woven into everyday language, expectations and institutions.
It shapes how boys are raised, how men understand power, and how women are expected to endure. In this context, harmful ideas about masculinity do not come out of nowhere. They are learned and reinforced over time.
When control, dominance and entitlement are seen as what make someone a “real man”, violence becomes one of the ways that power is expressed. Too often, these ideas are left unchallenged. Too often, they are excused.
And too often, they are defended. Religion is central to this conversation. In many communities, faith traditions shape ideas about gender roles in powerful ways.
Messages of women’s submission, forgiveness and endurance are often emphasised, while teachings on dignity, equality and justice receive less attention. In such contexts, abuse is more easily excused, minimised or endured in silence.
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
