About 150 people, led by actress turned women’s activist, Rosie Motene met at the Sandton City roof top parking area this morning.
DESTINY joined the march. It was an exhilarating experience that brought men, women and children, all clad in colourful African head gear and t-shirts, together to unite against the terror that the Boko Haram sect has caused by abducting the girls.
Media personalities came out in their numbers — we spotted Thami Ngubeni, Mel Bala, Ntsiki Mazwai, Sthandiwe Kgoroge, Tshepo Maseko, Samkelo Ndlovu and Criselda Kananda in the crowd.
The crowd was intent on voicing their dissatisfaction about the minimal interest expressed by the Nigerian government in the abductions, which took place three weeks ago. The protestors were also focused on adding their voices to the public outrage that has followed since the #bringbackourgirls social media campaign gained momentum.
This could have happened to anyone. it could have been South Africa, Ghana or Kenya. There is no such thing as ‘oh, it’s a Nigerian issue’. It’s an African and human rights issue that affects us all
Motene expressed her disgust at the abduction of the girls through a memorandum that was later issued to the Nigerian consulate. The memorandum read: “We join forces today for our girls and the communities they belong to. We call on the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, to actively protect the Nigerian population. We want to ensure that the safety and security of the Nigerian people is enhanced.
“Those girls are our future leaders in Africa. We march with the aim to fight for equality, freedom and the protection of human rights of 234 girls abducted, and for the people of Nigeria in their diversity – particularly women and girls. We also raise issues around lesbian, gays and the transgender community, and people living with HIV.
“What is going on is heartless, bloody, vicious, brutal and harmful. While Nigeria hosts the World Economic Forum on Africa, it is a shame that African leaders are discussing the economy as communities suffer. They must discuss social and structural barriers preventing such barbaric acts.”
Motene added that the abduction was a terrorist problem.
“The fact that it’s not on the agenda at the World Economic Forum is very worrying. We have to stop the world from believing that it’s okay to prevent girls from getting an education.”
Before the handing over of the memorandum, there was an altercation, with employees of the Nigerian Consulate arguing with protestors. Police eventually intervened and the protestors were allowed to hand their memorandum to Jonathan Ezeh, the head of the consulate.
Actress Samkelo Ndlovu said she always made it a priority to attend women and children-related events as they were a cause close to her heart.
“When I heard that young ladies between the ages of 14 and 18 were taken against their will, that they are being raped and impregnated, and sold off for marriage to Chad and Morocco — I knew that I definitely wanted to be involved. Marriage should be a holy union, it’s something that you should go into knowingly and willingly. If I had the opportunity to speak about it every day on some radio show, this is exactly what I’d be speaking about.”
Actress and fashion designer Sthandiwe Kgoroge said she was moved by the kidnappings, because this type of crime is a human rights issue.
“This could have happened to anyone. It could have been South Africa, Ghana or Kenya. There is no such thing as ‘oh, it’s a Nigerian issue’. It’s an African and human rights issue that affects us all, whether you have a child or not. It’s unfortunate that whenever there is a war, it’s always the innocent who are harmed. It is unfair. They have nothing to do with this.”
Sthandiwe added that the Nigerian government’s lack of action and delay in reporting the situation was sad.
“The campaign started on social media. We picked it up from what was started in New York. We thought to ourselves that we could be a part of it because we have so many Nigerian families living in SA. It would be wrong for us to not stand up. We are not looking at who is saying what – let their consciences eat away at them. What we know is that for us it feels wrong.”
One of a handful of men who attended the march, Sizwe Mzolo, said he emphathised with the families of the kidnapped girls as he has a 2-year-old daughter.
“I believe that for me to create a safe environment for my daughter, I have to fight such battles. If it weren’t for a woman, I wouldn’t be here.”
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