Call to castrate rapists
Own Correspondent
ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini has called for harsh punishment for those found guilty of rape, including castration.
Dlamini made the call on Sunday during the party’s 108th anniversary celebration in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal.
“There should be no bail for rape and no parole for rapists. There must be chemical castration for those found guilty of rape,” she said.
Dlamini added that the names of those found guilty of rape should be made public to protect women from having future relationships with them. Her call follows a spate of murders, rapes and kidnapping of women and children.
Dlamini also called for introduction of gender studies in the education system.
“Judges, the police and lawyers who deal with women abuse issues must be well equipped to handle such cases. Boys must be taught at a young age about issues affecting women, so that they grow up to be good men,” she said.
On Monday she said this was not the first time the call for harsher punishment for rapists is made. “During last year’s 16 Days of Activism we made this call at a meeting with NGOs and alliance partners. Some women came out strongly on the issue of the death sentence. We raised the issue of human rights, and said we can’t give the state rights to take life; therefore the option was chemical castration. There should be an open discussion about the matter. There is the Constitution, but how many women must die? It is important for men to be part of the debate and say what their problem is. Every day, we shout as women and the less worried people are men,” Dlamini said.
