Never okay to treat women as trash

“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman”.

These words by the late African American civil rights leader, Malcolm X, is apt to describe the plight of all black women whether in the Diaspora, the continent of Africa, or in South Africa.

The reality is that black women in South Africa have generally been given the short end of the stick – by society in general and by black men in particular.

In the past they were victims of what is termed “triple oppression” – oppressed because of their race, class and gender.

He admitted disposing of her body by burning it with pool acid, petrol and a tyre, but claimed he had done so for fear of being blamed for her death.

The prosecutor in the case described Mantsoe as “heartless, arrogant and remorseless” while the judge called him “a devil in disguise”.

One cannot but groan at the horrific degradation and violence Mokoena must have suffered at the hands of her supposed “lover”.

The use of a refuse bin to remove her body sums up, not only Mokoena’s attitude towards his former girlfriend, but to woman in general: they are worthless trash, to be disposed of at a whim.

A second case is that of Thabani Mzolo, who is currently in court charged with the premeditated murder of his ex-girlfriend, Zolile Khumalo, a Mangosuthu University of Technology quantity surveying student.

Available evidence is that Khumalo decided to break up with Mzolo. In a whatsapp message to a friend she recounts she had done this.

The friend, apparently aware of Mzolo’s violent reputation, cautioned Khumalo that she could die.

And indeed, her fears were realised. Shocking details shared in the Durban Regional Court yesterday revealed how Mzolo allegedly signed in at Khumulo’s residence under a false name, forced his way into her room and shot her twice – and then kicked her as she lay bleeding and cowering on the ground

Khumalo was the only surviving child of her mother who had lost several children before.

As if to celebrate Mzolo then apparently sent a message to his friend that he had killed his Zozo.

At his first appearance in court he was shown smiling and showed no sign of comprehending the egregious natured of the crime he is charged with committing.

These two cases of Mzolo and Mantsoe mirror the extreme abuse that many women in our country suffer at the hands of us, men.

Nor is it entirely uncommon to encounter the warped logic and crude sense of ownership that says if a man cannot have a woman, nobody else should. There many other cases – reported and unreported – of women suffering abuse at the hands of men.

We recently witnessed how women in the US and elsewhere in the world have started to rise up and stand up against abuse by various men with power. The cases of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby quickly spring to mind.

And even though some of these cases might have happened long ago, the wheel has finally turned. As they say, the truth will out.

Cosby has finally been guilty and Weinstein has been stripped of his prestige in Hollywood and ostracised.

This has happened to these men in later years – at a time when they should have been happily surrounded by their grandchildren.

But there is no question that they have brought it on themselves – the violation of a woman by a man with clear advantages is a despicable act.

So bravo to the #MeToo movement which has helped to foreground the long hidden epidemic of abuse. These women, from various races and classes, have indeed shown that unity is strength and in this way they can fight their battle unaided by men.

The #MeToo movement has also given other women the courage to come out and report cases of abuse.

I know many men ask questions about why were these women who were silent all along and are only starting to come out now.

Surely we do not need to be reminded that for women, the world has until very recently been a very different place?

It is us men, I should think, that ought to bring ourselves to order and to start treating women – all of them – with basic respect.