South Africa's president says it has been a 'dark and shameful week' for his country following a surge in violence against women.

Cyril Ramaphosa's remarks come after several shocking incidents, including one woman who was eight months pregnant and found stabbed and hanging from a tree.

The violence has been linked to the lifting of restrictions on the sale of alcohol as lockdown was eased.

'It is a dark and shameful week for us as a nation. Criminals have descended to even greater depths of cruelty and callousness. It simply cannot continue,' President Ramaphosa said in a statement.


Tshegofatso Pule, 28, was found stabbed through the chest and hanged from a tree on the outskirts of Johannesburg last week, four days after going missing

'We note with disgust that at a time when the country is facing the gravest of threats from the pandemic, violent men are taking advantage of the eased restrictions on movement to attack women and children.'

He also noted that South Africa had among the highest levels of domestic violence in the world, and that as much as 51 per cent of South African women have experienced violence at the hands of someone with whom they are in a relationship.

Tshegofatso Pule, 28, went missing two weeks ago after arguing with her boyfriend at his apartment on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

But her family say she never came home and after four days of searching a member of the public found her body hanging from a tree on Monday.

Police say she had been stabbed once through the left breast, and have launched a murder investigation.

The killing has sparked outrage on social media, with the hashtag 'justicefortshego' trending as the news spread.

In other violent incidents, Naledi Phangindawo, 25, was stabbed to death in Mossel Bay nine days ago.

Those using the hashtag #JusticeforNaledi want the suspect, who is now in police custody, to be denied bail. He is believed to be her partner.

The president said another young woman had been dumped under a tree in Johannesburg's Soweto township on Friday.

Police later named her as Sanele Mfaba, sparking another hashtag that began trending on Saturday - #JusticeforSanelisiwe - calling for more to be done to protect women.

For two months South Africa had one of the world's toughest lockdowns. It was said that the alcohol ban would limit domestic abuse and ease pressure on hospitals.

Bheki Cele, the police minister, linked rising crime to the partial lifting of alcohol sales on June 1.


Relatives say Ms Pule had gone to stay with her boyfriend the night she vanished but went missing after the pair argued. He has not been seen since

The president added in his statement: 'Gender-based violence thrives in a climate of silence. With our silence, by looking the other way because we believe it is a personal or family matter, we become complicit in this most insidious of crimes.'

'The manner in which these defenceless women were killed points to an unconscionable level of barbarism and lack of humanity,'

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's minister for women said: 'We should never allow gender-based violence to become a norm in our communities.

'How many more women, young girls and children must live with this constant fear of being attacked and violated?

'Women should not have to protect themselves from men. They have the right to feel safe.'

A woman is killed every three hours in South Africa, according to police statistics - a rate five times the world average.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8421627/South-Africas-dark-shameful-week-lifting-lockdown.html

frosbel2:
These are the same people tweeting hashtag #Nigeriansmustfall , yet they have no value for their own women, they abuse them, rape them, molest them, murder them and make their lives hell.

Bloody hypocrites.

DictatorZAR1:


39% of your youth have been sexually abused according to the UN and Amnesty international, so I would shut up if I were you.

frosbel2:
These are the same people tweeting hashtag #Nigeriansmustfall , yet they have no value for their own women, they abuse them, rape them, molest them, murder them and make their lives hell.

Subduer:


If you look, just beneath the surface, you'll discover that these CRISES are being engineered from outside Africa, so that Africans will be killing themselves, unable to organise politically, and above all, BUYING weapons from manufacturers seeking markets for their products.