The farce of Women’s Day

“You strike a woman, you strike a rock” – the famous quote from the 1956 women’s march on the Union Buildings.

Apparently, many took that quote to mean you can therefore strike a woman over and over again.

Fat cats only get fatter

So it turns out that Zuma and friends might get a 5.5% pay increase.

This of course wouldn’t be considered much – except for the fact that many of these people already earn millions per year.

According to IOLNews Zuma’s own salary would rise from R2.485 million to R2.622m per year.

Never mind the other expense he incurs which taxpayers have to pay for.And of course the millions living in poverty who would benefit so much more from the money.

I will be adding a more comprehensive post about my opinion on this.

In the meantime I want to see your opinions.

What do you think? Is the pay increase legitimate or just another example of fat cats lining their pockets?

On ‘The Spear’

This is my column which appeared in Activate Student Newspaper’s 65th birthday edition. It’s about the painting entitled ‘The Spear’ which was part of a gallery exhibition criticising the ANC’s politics. The specific painting depicted Jacob Zuma with his penis showing. The painting has since been defaced and removed. 

 

Once again Jacob Zuma’s penis was the subject of headlines across the country– except this time, instead of siring another child out of wedlock, it was the central image in an artwork.

Zuma said that the painting infringed on his right to dignity.

He’s probably right – but who is he to talk about denying people their dignity? Thousands sacrifice their dignity when crapping in a bucket, which is considered a legitimate system of waste management. Those who resort to begging sacrifice their dignity because their situation feels so hopeless.

As a nation, we have lost our dignity because our leaders mock us with empty promises and insult us with their flagrant disregard for everything the struggle stood for – changing South Africa for the better and giving freedom to everyone. Instead, our country is being looted by corrupt leaders who seem to think that their theft from the public doesn’t come with a body count.

The political discourse between our politicians is descending into nothing more than name-calling and finger-pointing, while we are expected to look to them to lead SA to prosperity.

Then again, now that Malema has been tossed aside, the government needs to find some other sensation to distract us from the real issues – corruption,poverty, crime and their inability to fulfil the promises which won them the election.Maybe the entire hubbub over this painting is meant to distract the media from the fact that the investigation into corruption charges against Zuma may be re-launched, while at the same time Zuma is interfering with court appointments. He also has the sheer arrogance to suggest that the Constitutional Court’s powers should be revised – insulting our intelligence with claims that it is anything but attempting to protect his own interests.

Then again, the only things the government ever seems to do with any efficiency of late is to protect Zuma’s interests. Malema could spread hate and lies all he wanted, but the moment he slandered our dear president he was expelled from the party with the same speed at which Mbeki was ousted.

Zuma can charge a man with assault for spilling a drink on him and have a speedy trial, but a rapist recently got off scot-free because our legislation regarding charges for various types of sexual assault is so flawed.

I’m sure Zuma’s dignity will soon be restored – but he will never restore the respect so many South Africans have lost for him. He conned a nation into believing he would bring change to the party and to our economy.Instead he brought threats to media freedom and disgrace to a country which fought so hard for the rights enshrined in the Constitution.

 

Ignorance ends bliss

Most of us are familiar with the common adage: “Ignorance is bliss”. And while this might apply to some circumstances, in others, ignorance could be the very thing creating some of the world’s most pertinent issues.

This is why I think it’s nothing short of a tragedy that SA’s education is in the state it is.

I was lucky enough to go to a pre-school, then a private school, and then a university. Working in the media, I have also been exposed to a range of issues and opinions. But the vast majority of the South African population is not this privileged.

Schools continue to go without teachers and basic supplies such as textbooks, paper to write on or even desks. Many cannot even afford the uniform required for them to attend school.

In fact, poverty is so dire in our society, that simple things such as a girl’s menstrual cycle is enough to keep them from going to school, because they cannot afford sanitary wear.

When researching for a story I published on the lack of affordability of SA tertiary education, I realised just how few South Africans achieve high school education, let alone higher education.

We have a nation in which many young people are ignorant regarding sexual education. With many of our government schools unable to teach learners about health and sexuality, how can we expect the HIV and Aids epidemic to stop, or the rise in teenage pregnancies?

Without education regarding human rights, many go without knowing what they, as a human, are entitled to. A more sinister product of this is that many don’t understand what their fellow humans are entitled to. Even in university some are ignorant about what rape is, with some not believing in marital or male rape at the hands of a woman.

And while SA allocates a larger portion of its budget to education than other countries, it is simply not enough. I refuse to believe we simply do not have the funding when so many government officials live in mansions and drive cars whose cost could fund the entire school career fees for numerous students.

With a skills gap, our economy suffers. We need better education.

With lack of health and sexual education, our bodies suffer. We need better education.

With lack of education, our minds suffer. We need better education.

But with our government, millions of South Africans continue so suffer. When will we get better education?

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Tracking rape in South Africa

As a student journalist, I am aware of the media’s failings to cover certain important issues with consistency. I have created a timeline using Dipity, tracking news reports and other media regarding the issue of rape in South Africa. This timeline includes all forms of rape including corrective rape, child rape and male rape. It is my hope that it will help us become more aware of what is happening in South Africa.

http://www.dipity.com/MeganEllis/Rape-in-South-Africa/?mode=embed&z=0#tl