A grim start to Women's Month: Domestic violence claims another life in South Africa
A man has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife in Philippi, Cape Town.
Image: File
As Women's Month commenced on Friday, a tragic incident unfolded in Browns Farm, Philippi, where a 53-year-old woman was discovered dead in her home following an alleged domestic dispute.
Reports suggest that she was beaten to death by her husband after a drunken altercation the previous night."
A resident said: “The husband left for work on Friday morning after assaulting the victim throughout the night. He locked the door and left the key at the neighbour’s house. He told the neighbour to go to the shack and wake his wife. When she got there, she found the victim unresponsive and called the police.”
According to the resident, police fetched the suspect from his workplace and arrested him.
Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, confirmed a case of murder was registered at Nyanga police station.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation. An adult male was arrested and is due to appear in court once charged. The motive is believed to be an argument,” said Van Wyk.
Anti-gender-based violence organisation Ilitha Labantu expressed concern over the killing.
Spokesperson, Siyabulela Monakali, said: “This horrific incident marks a grim beginning to Women’s Month, a time that is meant to honour the courage and resistance of women in our country. Yet women continue to be brutalised and murdered in their homes and communities. We cannot claim to be making any real progress when women are never safe – not in their homes, not in public, and certainly not in intimate relationships. This is not an isolated case. It is part of a broader crisis of gender-based violence that has become normalised in our society, where women’s bodies are sites of violence and the justice system continues to fail to act as an effective deterrent. Each life taken is a reminder of how little value is placed on the safety and dignity of women in South Africa.”
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