A Determined Black Woman

  Gender-Based Violence is a profound and widespread problem in South Africa. GBV disproportionally affects women as a result of a system deeply entrenched in cultures and traditions that see women as possessions. I believe societies free of GBV do not exist, however, our country is at the leader board of something very dehumanizing to women. When we speak of GBV, our minds quickly run to physical abuse because it is the most visible and prominent form of abuse. However, it is usually accompanied by other forms of abuse that we will be looking at in this blog post.   These are the 4 most common types of abuses: ·       PHYSICAL ABUSE Any act which causes bodily harm as a result of unlawful physical force. Physical force can be serious or minor assault which may result in manslaughter or murder as we have seen in many GBV cases in our country.   ·       Sexual Abuse Any sexual act performed on an individual wi...

It wouldn’t be authentically me if I didn’t start this off with something very close to my heart. Not only is it something I am very passionate about advocating against, it is also on a steady incline in this country and our government is dragging its feet to fight it, to fight for us and our existence. It is non-other than Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Simply put, GBV is any act of violence that results in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women whether in public or private. This form of violence is most common in romantic relationships. Femicide on the other hand is understood as the intentional senseless killings of women just because they are women by immoral men. Black women have been subjected to Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in this country for years. Our foremothers fought off their husbands and stayed in abusive marriages for the sake of their children they would say. They fought off white police men who forced themselves unto them during apa...

I am Ncumisa Lerato Kunana, a 21-year old BA in Politics and Communication Studies 2nd year student at the University of the Western Cape. I am passionate about reading and writing about issues that affect black women . In this blog, I will be communicating my thoughts on social issues that affect us as black women and bring about ideas from academic scholars who have spent time researching these issues. Not only will it be about long standing social issues that affect black women but it will also be about current social issues that reflect issues black women have always faced but for some reason have re-surfaced, for example; the clicks/Tresemme advertisement saga.   I want to create a community of black women that come together to teach, learn and unlearn issues that directly affect us as a people. This blog will combine both of my passions, writing and teaching. I am a lover of unconventional teaching and I advocate for learning outside the walls of a classroom. This blog will b...