New hate speech ruling in South Africa
I mainly wanted to post about this to give me an excuse to show this picture, which I love. I want t-shirts with this on… now!
The story behind this, via Feministing, is that the South African Equality Court has handed down a ruling labelling the following statement, made by ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, as hate-speech and discrimination against women. This means that, in future, this will not be tolerated without legal ramification.
Here is the infamous quote that started this off:
“When a woman didn’t enjoy it [sex], she leaves early in the morning. Those who had a nice time will wait until the sun comes out, request breakfast, and ask for taxi money.”
-ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, speaking to a group of 150 University students last May on why South African President Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser must have enjoyed having sex with him.
As Feministing Lori’s says: “These are the words of a rape apologist. They are the words of someone seeking to shame, embarrass, humiliate, and de-legitimize a woman who dared to take legal action against her alleged rapist- the president of a nation.”
Here’s a comment from the Sonke Gender Justice Network, a South African organization that supports men and boys to act against domestic and sexual violence:
“In a country where it is estimated that one in three a women is raped, we need to take strong action to counter myths and stereotypes which can lead perpetrators to believe that they can act with impunity, and which can dissuade rape survivors from seeking health care or justice.”
