ill-behaved marchers
10 May 2006
Status of Women within the Office of the Premier wishes to condemn in the
strongest possible terms the inappropriate and disgraceful conduct committed by
some of the marchers during the recent taxi march, which took place on 10 May
2006, where they handed over a memorandum to the Office of the Premier.
As a result of this, the Office on the Status of Women is going to pursue
the matter with the police with a view to considering the laying of charges
against the individuals concerned. Some of the acts that were found distasteful
include a woman marcher who exposed her behind to the public as well as men who
were wearing women's underwear on top of their trousers and hurling insults to
the officials who had come to collect the memorandum on behalf of the Office of
the Premier.
"The reason why the Office of the Premier established the Office on the
Status of Women was that it could lead the campaign to empower women and ensure
that they play a meaningful role in their development. It is saddening that
despite the efforts of government to restore the dignity of women, there are
still women who are hell-bent on denigrating the image of women. We view the
conduct of some of the marchers seriously and will seek legal recourse in this
regard," said Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, Chief Director of Human Rights in the
Office of the Premier.
These acts send wrong messages to the public and confuse young girls and
boys about the moral values that government is trying to inculcate. We also
feel that these acts exacerbate the perception of women as sex objects and
damage attainment of gender equality.
Enquiries:
Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize
Chief Directorate Human Rights
Cell: 082 499 4787
Selby Khumalo
Cell: 083 271 4167
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
10 May 2006
Source: SAPA
