Riyaz Patel
Delegates attending the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA) are in agreement that it cannot be business as usual while African women are being raped and murdered.
African Monitor Director Namhla Mniki-Mangaliso, a panelist on a session discussing Eradicating violence against women, said: “I am dumbfounded by the fact that we can continue with business as usual as if the crisis that we are facing as a country is in fact not a crisis.”
Mniki-Mangaliso said the meeting, which is currently in its second day, has a powerful delegation of business leaders who have the influence to contribute their resources to fight the scourge.
“For me, two or three things stand at the top of my head. First, we have some of the most powerful global leaders here, particularly heads of business. Why is it that they have not come together and said ‘how can we address this immediately?”
“Mechanisms like a gender-based violence fund, for example, is something that we have been calling for,” she said.
As the WEF meeting, entered its second day, issues of gender-based violence dominated media headlines.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delegated Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to address a plenary session on the Fourth Industrial Revolution on his behalf so that he could address protesting students outside Parliament.
He is also scheduled to address the nation this evening on the issue of gender-based violence.
The moderator, who announced the President’s apology to delegates, indicated that while the meeting was important, issues of gender-based violence had become a priority.
Dr Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, a Nigerian politician turned social activist, said gender-based violence must be prioritised and included on the agenda when governments discuss policy.
Ezekwesili, who recently participated in the Nigerian Presidential race, was at the forefront of a campaign to free the 300 girls who were abducted by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram.
“What we see is a situation that entrenches a perception that when it has got to do with women, when it’s got to do with girls, it is not that important. It is not a policy topic,” she said.
“That must change. The matter of gender-based violence must be a policy topic,” said Ezekwesili
