The name Uyinene Mrwetyana should not just be a memory but a turning point against gender-based violence and femicide in SA, Methodist Church of Southern Africa Bishop Pumla Nzimande said.
Delivering the annual Uyinene Mrwetyana commemorative lecture at Mrwetyana’s alma mater, Kingswood College in Makhanda, Nzimande urged young people to be the generation that “changes the story” along with the toxic cultures that allowed GBVF to flourish.
The brutal rape and murder of Mrwetyana at a Cape Town post office by postal worker Luyanda Botha in 2019 sparked international outrage and protests against GBVF.
Nzimande said it had shaken the nation but also stirred a renewed determination to confront GBVF.
“It was more than a moment of reflection. It was a call to conscience.
“It was time to consider not just the tragedy of her death but the meaning and value of her life and the kind of society we are shaping.
“There must be strengthened resolve that her story should inspire meaningful change.”
She told Kingswood pupils, teachers and visiting dignitaries attending the lecture, which is held in association with the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation, that GBV was not abstract but painfully real.
“It has names, it is about futures stolen. And, it is everyone’s business.”
Her story became part of a national wound from which we are still trying to heal
She said Mrwetyana , who at the time was a student at the University of Cape Town, had been a young woman full of promise, possibility and purpose.
“Her story became part of a national wound from which we are still trying to heal.”
Nzimande said the country had still not experienced the fruit of the government’s decision to declare GBV a national disaster.
“Until all citizens across all demographics come to the point of beginning a grassroots revolution in the fight against GBV, this declaration will remain a statement without power or ability to effect transformation.”
Culture, including societal norms and patriarchal structures, along with silence normalised and minimised GBVF.
But, she said, old culture could be “unlearnt” and new positive behaviours, attitudes and cultures could be learnt.
“GBV does not begin in a dark alley, a post office or a hostel.
“It begins much earlier. It begins in thoughts we entertain, the tropes we spread, and with words and ideas.”
She said cultural ideas were the breeding grounds for abuse and violence.
These included cultural believes that women must be submissive, men must exercise control, men had the right to discipline women, women could not deny male partners sex, women experienced violence because of provocative dress and that heterosexuality was the only acceptable sexual orientation.
She said the current youth lived in a digital world of group chats, content creation and social media.
While it had the potential to connect people, it also resulted in digital violence where images were shared without consent or where people were bullied.
“Online violence does not belong just to the person who posted, but to everyone who laughs, comments, forwards or stays silent.”
She warned that silence “opened the door to complicity”.
“It is easier to assume the spectator position rather than challenge injustice.
“But silence is expensive. Silence protects perpetrators. Speaking the truth protects people.”
GBVF prevention was not only about policing, laws, policy and punishment. It was “cultural”.
“We must teach about consent, raise boys that are comfortable with emotion, girls that are encouraged to lead.
“Communities and institutions must protect the vulnerable rather than their own reputation.
“You are the generation that can change the story. You are not too young to change culture. You are culture makers.
“She urged young people to choose courage over complicity, dignity over dominance and respect over reputation.
“The name Uyinene Mrwetyana must not only be a memory but a turning point.”
Daily Dispatch
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