Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens supports Black Thursday

Following a spate of violent rapes and murders of women across the country, personnel at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens decided to take a stand and lend their support to the cause of raising awareness around this violent trend.

25 May was recognized as Black Thursday and a session to speak about these horrendous murders and violent rapes was organised.

Black Thursdays or Thursdays in Black is a campaign of solidarity and advocacy against all forms of sexual abuse and gender-based violence.

Dressed in black, the staff had a mini discussion as to what was causing this current wave of violence directed towards women and children and examined how society might have contributed, and how it can change things.

At the conclusion of the talk, each staff member made a pledge to support all efforts and campaigns that raise awareness on all platforms, including social media, and break the silence by talking about this issue.

One of the organisers, Phoziswa Ndzondo, said, “We cannot be silent anymore as this is proving to be a daily threat to every woman in the country. Enough is enough! We need to confront this curse head-on everywhere, including work places, and men must be involved.”

The session ended on an emotional note when the names of the women and children who had been brutalised within the past six months and the circumstances of how they died were called out by women staff members. The men who were present had to reject the kind of behaviour and shout #NotInMyName; real men don’t rape; that’s from a psychopath; I don’t rape or we are living in a sick society, after each victim’s name.

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