South Africans march to call out violence against women ‘My body, not your crime scene’

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Violence against women in South Africa took center stage as hundreds of protestors determined to shed a light on gender-based brutality, have planned marches in support of the “Total Shutdown” cause.

—True Crime: Mom arrested after throwing 4-year-old autistic daughter into a river—

According to the organizers’ WomenProtestSA,  website, ‘The Total Shutdown’ will take place throughout the month of August, as South Africa celebrates Women’s Month and National Women’s Day on August 9. The theme of the march is: “My body, not your crime scene.”

The marches will take place in eight provinces as well as African countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, and Namibia, according to reports, CNN reports.

According to a report by Africa Check, in 2015, femicide – which is he killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender – was 2.4 per 100,000 women globally, while South Africa’s rate alone was four times higher at 9.6 per 100,000 women.

The Total Shutdown group is calling for action and intend to march to South Africa’s parliament, Supreme Court of Appeal and other places to demand action concerning “gender-based violence and make the country safe,” the group posted on their website.

This week, women in South Africa marched against alarming rates of gender-based violence in the country ?? @BBCAfrica’s women’s affairs correspondent Abigail Ony Nwaohuocha explains #TheTotalShutdown ___________ #SouthAfrica #capetown #namibia #lesotho #botswana #totalshutdown #protest #women #100Women @ony_law

A post shared by BBC100Women (@bbc100women) on Aug 3, 2018 at 4:32am PDT

 The group called for men to take up the cause also by assuming the domestic duties of women on that day and refraining from any economic activities.

#TotalShutDown at Makhanda (Grahamstown) pic.twitter.com/ZuJDhOCKkN

— #Totalshutdown (@katt_005) August 1, 2018

—Black pastors meet with Trump and get blasted by social media for accomplishing nothing—

The Shutdown organizers further state:

Every week, we receive multiple reports of women, children, and gender non-conforming people who have been brutally murdered, kidnapped, or abused, and there is no sense of urgency from our leaders to find ways in which society can tackle this violence. Women including the LGBTQIA+, children, and GNC people keep dying at the hands of men in South Africa, and something needs to be done.

We call on all women and GNC people to stay away from work and join the protest on 1 August 2018 in their respective provinces, Universities, and colleges and not buy anything on the day.

Those who are receiving their grants on the day are encouraged to use ATM’s in the mornings and head their way to their respective march starting points.

Organizers plan to hand over a memorandum of demands to the government, Parliament, the Supreme Court of Appeal to address gender-based violence.