Commission for Gender Equality Calls for Investigation into Inhumane Treatment of Looters
- The Commission for Gender Equality has called for an investigation into a video that went viral on social media
- The video in question shows women presumed to be looters being forced to 'swim' in spilled substances as punishment
- The Commission for Gender Equality has vehemently condemned these acts and wants those responsible to be held accountable
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MAMELODI - A video circulating on social media showing women presumed to be looters allegedly being forced to 'bathe' in what is assumed to be spilt alcohol has prompted calls for an investigation by the Commission for Gender Equality.
The CGE was outraged when it witnessed the video of the women being treated inhumanely following recent disturbances in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, according to a report by News24.
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The incident is said to have taken place at Mamelodi Mall and the CGE said no matter how angry people may have been about the looting, women do not deserve to be treated in such a way.
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"No matter how angry those who made those women to do such an act were, allegedly in Mamelodi Mall, women should not be objectified or demeaned in such a manner," the CGE stated.
Spokesperson for the Commission Javi Baloyi said the women being subjected to such humiliating acts could be mothers, sisters or aunts and will suffer in future because of what they were subjected to.
Tamara Mathebula, chairperson of the CGE, stated that there are a number of remedies available to punish people for wrongful acts without stripping away their basic human rights as seen in the video.
Mathebula further stated that the organisation was calling for an investigation into the video and would like to see those responsible being held accountable, according to a report by IOL. She added that South Africa's Constitution affords everyone human rights, including looters.
’The law must be applied but not in the manner in which people had their dignity and bodily integrity removed,” said Mathebula.
Civil society groups ask Government to pardon looters amid police raids to retrieve stolen goods
Briefly News previously reported that civil society groups have called out the South African government's decision to raid the homes of people suspected of participating in the looting that took place in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the past weeks.
The South African Police Services, alongside members of the South African Defence Force as well as private security companies, are currently engaged in a joint effort to retrieve as many stolen goods as possible, according to News24.
The legality of the police raids has been brought into question with the C19 People's Coalition calling the raids morally devoid.
Speaking to EWN, the C19's People's Coalition's Tauriq Jenkins stated these missions to retrieve stolen goods were targeting impoverished individuals. In reaction to the possibility that the government's plan to destroy all the stolen that has been retrieved, Jenkins says there is no moral logic behind this plan.
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Source: Briefly News
