Another bums-on-seats body as Cosatu slams GBVF council line-up
· Citizen
Experts are asking whether the appointment of members to the National Council on Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) will bring about real change, or if it will be just another talk shop.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Ramalepe Lebogang Mathibe, Keitumetse Fatimata Moutloatse, Caroline Peters, Zubeda Dangor, Vuyisiwe Numalo, Anele Siswana and TWM Limema as members from 1 August to 31 July, 2029.
Ramaphosa appoints seven members
Additionally, Mathibe was appointed as council chair and Welheminah Tshabalala as deputy chair.
Ramaphosa said as the council assumes its term at the start of Women’s Month, he expects it will leverage the classification of GBVF as a national disaster to challenge harmful practices, advance women’s economic empowerment, strengthen law enforcement and scale up survivor-centred support.
However, trade union confederation Cosatu has already voiced its dismay over the appointments.
Cosatu parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said despite the Act establishing the council specifically stipulating representatives from business and labour should be included, this was ignored.
He added this was despite highly experienced gender rights activists from labour having been nominated to parliament.
Cosatu slams exclusion of labour and business
“Worse, this failure to comply with the Act’s stipulation for labour and business representatives to be included in the council was formally raised with parliament, with no response received from the portfolio committee on women, youth and persons with disabilities, who were tasked with this process,” Parks added.
Parks said GBVF was not a mere academic discussion.
“It is the lived experience of the cashier at a supermarket harassed by customers, daily abuse of cleaners fearing their own colleagues, it is the nightmare faced by young women across all workplaces told they will only be appointed if they sleep with the boss.
“Workplace GBVF trauma needs to be at the centre of the council’s work,” he said.
The portfolio committee welcomed Ramaphosa’s appointments. Its chair Liezl van der Merwe said the appointments marks an important milestone.