#EditorsNote: The list of femicide victims is long and grows by the day
The struggle against male domination and abuse can have its offbeat moments.
Like in an Indian state that in May last year handed out hundreds of wooden bats to newly married women to use as a weapon if their husbands became abusive.
India, like South Africa and many other societies, has seen an increase in cases of gender violence and widespread misogyny. Crimes against women soared by 34% between 2012 and 2015, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
And so incensed was Gopal Bargava, a minister in the state of Madhya Pradesh, that he handed out the paddles, traditionally used to get dirt out of clothes in old-fashioned laundries, to around 700 brides at a mass wedding. The paddles have messages on them that read “For beating drunkards” and “Police won’t intervene”.
India is no stranger to the brutal treatment of women.
Last year the federal transport minister announced that all buses would be fitted with panic button alarm, linked to the control room at a local police station, to help protect women on public transport.
The move followed the brutal gang-rape and disembowelment of a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi, which sent shock waves around the world.
Closer to home, South Africa has joined other countries to mark this year's 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.
Like India, gender violence is a serious matter in this country, and we have a long way to go before we can even make a dent.
Patriarchy is so entrenched that many men don't know when they're overstepping the mark.
What many don't realise is that abuse can also take the form of harmful traditions such as ukuthwala, when an older man abducts a girl to make her his wife.
Destructive patriarchy is second nature to many. If such people could pause for a moment to regard their ways it would be a good start.
Women should be respected, not humiliated. An example of this male chauvinism and humiliation is often seen at our transport hubs, where women are groped and humiliated by men at taxi ranks and in crowded taxis. Remember the case of Nwabisa Ngcukana, the then 25-year-old taxi commuter who, in February 2008, was stripped and sexually molested for wearing a miniskirt?
While Ngcukana was able to escape from her tormentors, there are hundreds who aren't so fortunate.
Karabo Mokoena is one of them. Her charred remains were found dumped in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg, in April 2017. Her ex-boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, received an effective 32-year jail term for her murder.
Also not so lucky was Zolile Khumalo, a Mangosuthu University of Technology student, allegedly shot at her Lonsdale Hotel residence on Durban’s Point by her ex-boyfriend. Or Jabulile Nhlapo 21, from the University of South Africa, allegedly shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend at a commune in Vanderbijlpark earlier this year.
The list of femicide victims is long - and grows by the day. A report by Africa Check revealed that while the global rate of femicide for 2015 was 2.4 per 100 000 women, South Africa’s for the same year was 9.6 per 100000 women - four times the global average.
This is a reflection of the violence that racks our souls, a manifestation within a society that seems to condone violence as a legitimate response whenever one feels aggrieved or entitled. This must stop.
The first step must be a consistent, relentless, unambiguous message, taught in homes and schools from an early age, that violence is unacceptable and that disrespect of others will always have consequences.
This message must reverberate all year round - not just during the 16 Days.
Makgabutlane is an assistant editor at The Star.