By Lebogang Maseko
The recent unanimous recommendation in the National Assembly for Tsakani Maluleke to be appointed as the next Auditor-General of South Africa (dare I say first female and black); together with the crowning of Miss SA, Shudufhadzo Musida, couldn’t have come at a better time.
In a country in which gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread and affects almost every aspect of life, Tsakani and Shudufhadzo’s milestones are worth celebrating.
I am fortunate to be among the very few women who has not yet experienced GBV. And this is only to a certain extent. I have not yet been battered and bruised by a man, and I have not yet been raped. I say “yet” because it always feels as though every woman in South Africa is standing next in line to be violated.
Some time in June this year, my car was stolen. Luckily for me, I was not there when the theft occurred. I know as a matter of a fact I wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. One morning, I went to work in one of our offices in Sunnyside, Pretoria. I parked my car outside a building at about 8.45am, and at approximately 11.45am, there I was asking anyone who cared to listen if they had seen a white Toyota Etios parked outside the building.
Fast-forward to seeing footage of the actual incident: a car parks next to mine. A male figure gets out of the passenger side of the other car. Walks around as if to inspect it (my car); next thing he opens the front passenger door. He is in, and then off he goes. Car gone in just five minutes. I wonder how long it takes to kill a woman? Five minutes could be long enough.
I remember watching the security footage and how grateful I was that I was nowhere near the car when it was stolen. As I said, I don’t think I would have lived to pen my experience.
We are accustomed to stories of women fighting for their lives
It has become so much of a norm that we are accustomed to hearing dozens of dreadful stories of women fighting for their lives, or even dying, due to GBV. I may not have been physically violated, but this experience really shook me. It is for this specific reason that Tsakani and Shudufhadzo’s great strides are timely and worth making a noise about.
Another timely coincidence is the Women in Construction Summit to be hosted by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation on November 5. The summit aims to reach out to women in construction and offer support that will strengthen and consolidate their effective participation in the field.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has many women who are able to create their own wealth with their own hands. There are brilliant engineers who have, and continue to, spearhead mega water projects across the country.
As a woman, a black woman, I am celebrating with Tsakani, Shudufhadzo and many other women who continue to be exemplary and validate black girls’ dreams. My only hope is that the narrative of the #MeToo and #AMINext campaigns will be slightly different for the next generation. Black girls should all stand in line, not be battered and killed. They should be in line, alive and fulfilling their dreams.
Lebogang Maseko is a social media practitioner and works for the Department of Water and Sanitation. She writes in her personal capacity.
The Star