‘Stop Killing Us’: Survivors Lead Powerful Anti-GBVF March in Eastern Cape
QONCE, South Africa — Protesters marched through Qonce in South Africa’s Eastern Cape on Friday, demanding stronger action against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) while calling on men to play a greater role in confronting abuse.
Demonstrators marching, chanting, and blowing whistles before gathering outside a local police station carried placards reading “Girls Just Want to Live,” “Stop Killing Us,” and “End Gender-Based Violence.”
For Asonele Melapi, founder and chairperson of the Nokwanda Patocka GBVF Foundation, the march was deeply personal.
“Nokwanda was my sister. She was murdered by her boyfriend of four months in Ginsberg, Qonce, on October 4, 2021. So this march for me is significant, based on the fact that it is the month my sister was murdered, just two days from now,” Melapi recalled.
“We shouldn’t wait for an outcry before we take action. Sometimes showing resolve and showing that we are in solidarity together—men and women against GBV—is a message that we should strongly encourage among the youth and communities,” she urged.
Organiser Mxhosa Kazi Jajula also spoke of her harrowing experiences. “I’m also a rape survivor. I lost my mother to GBV—she was shot and killed. I’ve also lost a friend through GBV. So I think that’s why we are here today,” she said.
Protester Lunga Mampangashe criticised the government’s response, stating the issue is not being taken seriously enough.
“I don’t think enough resources are being put towards this issue,” Mampangashe said. “They are always reacting when a problem has already happened. I think they should have ongoing campaigns to make sure that they educate people so that things like this don’t happen.”
The demonstration follows a grim discovery in Ekurhuleni, where the bodies of 11 women were uncovered between July and September 29.
The findings prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to elevate the investigation to a national priority.
According to police authorities, more than 50,000 gender-based violence and femicide cases were recorded nationwide between April and June 2026 alone.
President Ramaphosa has since announced a national operation targeting unresolved murders, rapes, and other serious crimes against women and children.
(VIORY)
