South Africa's Plague of Masculine Violence

It is almost impossible to live in South Africa and be unaffected by prejudice; masculine violence in South Africa is a weaponization of this prejudice.

Written by Adenike Fapohunda

Oct 23, 2019

South African women and gender non-conforming individuals across Gauteng march their way to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in August 2018. ROSETTA MSIMANGO`

For the citizens of South Africa, the first week of September this year was a week in which we were forced to consider the many painful realities of South Africa. Like the fact that the society we live in is stained by violence, hatred, and prejudice. The first week of September saw Uyinene Mrwetyana , Jessie Hess and twelve other people lose their lives. These killings were all brought on by the same cause: South Africa’s plague of masculine violence.

Historically, the region known today as South Africa has featured great degrees of violence. At, and arguably even before the advent of colonialism, the South African reality was one that incapsulated constant domination from groups that were able to utilize violence to their advantage. The region was initially the site of ethnic violence due to the Zulu Wars and King Shaka’s attempt at expansion of the Zulu Kingdom. This was soon followed by slavery in the trading post of the Cape, and then settler colonialism which led to the violent system of governance known as Apartheid. Even now, in Post-Apartheid South Africa, the state has not shown restraint in exercising what it claims to be legitimate violence against poor black and coloured people, most notably in Marikana and most recently through the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to the Cape Flats.

Zimbabwean author, Tsitsi Dangarembga, talked about nervous conditions in the African context in her 2018 Mapungubwe Institute lecture. She noted that trauma is a condition that derives itself from the experience of violence. In response to centuries of violence, in Zimbabwe, citizens find themselves dealing with the effects of betrayal, shock, loss, grief, damaged self-esteem, self-doubt, and anger. This condition of trauma is something South Africans also experience. Our ‘conditions’ as South Africans are defined by a lack of healing or tangible reparations and worsened by widespread poverty and inequality. The question then arises: how best do we deal with this trauma? In South Africa, the response to that question appears to be violence.

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About the Author

Adenike Fapohunda

is a writer who is currently completing her MA in Development Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam

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South Africa's Plague of Masculine Violence