‘Men must lead’ : March and March calls on men to lead fight against GBVF - IOL

March and March has called on men across South Africa to take the lead in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

March and March Movement’s SA First Forum has called on men across the country to take the lead in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), as the anti-migrant movement staged demonstrations in several provinces on Wednesday.

Speaking in KwaZulu-Natal, the forum’s acting leader, Xolani Zuma, said men should take the frontline against GBVF, arguing that protecting women was a societal responsibility.

The forum, which forms part of the movement, was launched with the stated aim of helping citizens access legal services and addressing human rights violations affecting South Africans.

The call came as March and March held a national day of action against GBVF on Wednesday, with demonstrations planned in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

IOL reported on Monday that the movement had planned the demonstrations to call on men to take a stand against the killing of women.

The movement had initially planned to focus the day’s action on undocumented immigration, following its June 30 nationwide protest calling on undocumented migrants to leave the country voluntarily.

In Gauteng, protesters were expected to gather at Church Square in Tshwane at 9am before marching through the city centre and Sunnyside towards the Union Buildings. 

The movement planned to hand over a memorandum to Sindisiwe Chikunga, the minister in the Presidency responsible for women, youth and persons with disabilities.

However, when an IOL team arrived at the location, no protesters were present, amid severe rain and flooding in Pretoria.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the main march was planned to start at Albert Park in Durban and proceed to the provincial police headquarters.

Zuma said the demonstrations were intended to highlight the scourge of GBV-related killings in South Africa.

“The serious problem we have now is why the solution for this killing is not an immediate solution, something that will happen now, because it’s possible to do so under an environment that is not normal,” he said.

Zuma said the decision to have men lead the march was based on what he described as their responsibility to protect women.

“We took a decision that men must lead this march because it’s not only men that are causing problems when it comes to the killing of women, but it’s a societal issue,” he said.

“By their very nature, men are meant to protect us. Men are supposed to provide, to love.”

Zuma said the protest was also directed at the government, adding that the movement was frustrated by what he described as a lack of practical action to address GBV.

“There must be practical problems to deal with the killing of women and children in our country.”

March and March has called on men across South Africa to take the lead in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide, as the anti-migrant movement staged demonstrations in several provinces on Wednesday.

Zuma said the movement would intensify its legal and political pressure on the government over immigration.

“Going forward, we are not going to negotiate with the government. We are going to be launching a massive fight against the government. We are going to be spending every single month with the government in our courts."

He called for changes to immigration policy, including a reduction in the number of refugees the country accommodates and the removal of people living in South Africa without legal status.

Zuma also called for amendments to legislation affecting the township and informal economies, arguing that they should be reserved for South Africans.

There was a heavy police presence in the area as law enforcement officials monitored the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, a separate march took place in Cape Town, where protesters gathered along Hanover Street to call for an end to violence against women and stronger government action to protect women.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that government’s efforts to combat GBVF have not been enough and on Tuesday night announced a series of measures following the recent killing of women in Ekurhuleni.

Among the measures, Ramaphosa ordered a national review of unresolved cases involving women and children, including murders, attempted murders, rape and other serious offences. 

The review would identify outstanding cases within 60 days and set out action plans within 90 days.

He also ordered a funded plan to reduce forensic backlogs, with priority samples in rape and murder cases involving women and children to be urgently processed.

Municipalities have been directed to conduct women’s safety audits to identify hazards such as broken streetlights, unsafe transport routes, abandoned buildings and poorly secured public spaces.

Ramaphosa also called for stronger enforcement of liquor laws and a co-ordinated plan to address alcohol-related violence.

The measures would be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Committee and the National Council on GBVF, with the first consolidated progress report due within 90 days and quarterly reports thereafter.