Namibia: Gender Groups Outraged Over Woman's Stoning Death By Ex-Lover
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
8 September 2008
Posted to the web 8 September 2008
THE stoning of a woman in Katutura last week, apparently at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, has led to widespread condemnation from civil society and members of the public.
A protest march to the Windhoek Magistrate's Court in Katutura is scheduled this morning as the murder suspect makes his first court appearance.
The suspect was apprehended by members of the public who apparently tied him up and contacted the Police.
Official information on the incident and the identification of the victim could not be obtained from the Police's public relations office over the weekend.
The suspect can only be named once he has appeared in court.
Two women leaders who strongly protested the incident were Khomas North Regional Councillor Margaret Mensah-Williams and Women's Action for Development Executive Director Veronica De Klerk.
Mensah-Williams, speaking on behalf of the Rural Women Development Trust, suggested the establishment of institutions to prepare young men and women for adulthood.
She said various demonstrations and protests against violence throughout the years had failed to deliver any positive results.
"I am not only deeply grieved but disappointed to the extreme that after so many press conferences, marches, media proclamations and adverts on violence against women and children, these acts are still recurring, not only violent but barbaric and dehumanising in nature.
Stiffer sentences are sending no shock waves to the potential perpetuators.
What then?" she said.
"It seems the more we shout, the more they say watch and see if your howling will produce results," she added.
Both Mensah-Williams and De Klerk further condemned the news that newborn twins were found dead and burned in Windhoek on Wednesday morning.
The Police said their mother had been arrested.
"A clear trend is becoming evident.
Infanticide and woman battering in Namibia are more gruesome every time it occurs than the previous incident," De Klerk stated this weekend.
"Once we stop condemning these acts, it would prove the Namibian nation has lost its sense of value for the lives of other human beings and has lost the difference in behaviour which puts us above animals," she said.
De Klerk referred to a research report produced by WAD, the Namibian Police and the University of Namibia (Unam) last year, which explored the root causes of violence against women and girls, saying that it was time the nation paid attention to the findings of this report.
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She thanked to the neighbours who arrested the man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, calling their actions an example worth emulating.
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Copyright © 2008 The Namibian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
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