Riva Lange
Riva Lange
International Women’s Day takes place today.
This year the theme is “Inspire Inclusion”. Sounds empowering, does it not?
Who doesn’t want to be involved in a campaign that aspires to raise the profile and celebrates all women? Well, all that is unless you are an Israeli woman post October 7. It would then seem that you have no voice, you are not included in the international community of women.
The international community was eerily silent on the issue of the gender-based violence perpetrated against the women and girls of Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023. There has been no resounding support for Israeli women from any of the advocates for female empowerment and protection.
I cannot be silent when a specific group of women is excluded; where my sister is marginalised and her pain goes unnoticed and unseen.
In the days after October 7, I watched and waited for the international women’s organisations to decry the gender-based violence that Israeli women were subjected to but it soon became clear that it’s #MeTooUnlessYouAreAJew.
There was no outcry against Hamas, there was no recognition of the atrocities that were inflicted on Israeli women and children despite these being filmed by Hamas. And that shook me.
It went against everything that I stand for and which I thought international women’s groups stood for – the recognition that a woman’s race, religion or creed does not matter. All women are equal and all women must be protected. But clearly, you are not seen if you are an Israeli who has been the victim of gender-based violence.
In February 2024, the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel submitted a report, called Silent Cry, to the UN. The significance of the report is that it leaves no room for denial. It indicates Hamas’s strategic decision to harm Israel through kidnapping citizens and committing sadistic sexual crimes. It concludes that the sexual crimes were not isolated incidents but part of a systematic, targeted strategy.
The significance of presenting the report to the UN is that it states: “Silence in response to these atrocities is unacceptable, and international organisations are urged to take a clear stance.”
Released hostages spoke of their sexual terror and this is, undoubtedly, happening to the hostages kidnapped and held by Hamas.
And what about the South African response? In a country with the most devastating statistics of gender-based violence, surely our political parties and movements would publicly recognise the horror of what the victims of October 7 endured? But once again, there was no outcry on behalf of the women and girls of Israel.
I contemplated the silence in the context of a country where we espouse ubuntu and where the greeting, “sawubona”, rings throughout the land. “Sawubona” translated means “we see you”. It implies inclusion and witnessing but again, it seems that if you are an Israeli woman or girl child, you are not seen and you do not count.
Refusing to witness Israeli women victims’ experiences silences the pain and suffering of these women and the remaining hostages in the hands of Hamas. If public organisations are not prepared to bear witness to the suffering of Israeli women, it is up to us to step boldly forward and declare, “I see you”, I will be the witness to your pain, trauma and horror.
Riva Lange is an attorney at Riva Lange Attorneys, a legal practice that specialises in mediation of family law and commercial matters.
The Star