The facts
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on men to take more responsibility for violence against women and announced measures to tackle the problem, amid public anger over a recent spate of murders. Ramaphosa acknowledged that insufficient action had been taken to protect women and stated that police would review unsolved murders, attempted murders, and serious sexual offenses against women and children within 60 days. He also committed to a funded plan to reduce the forensic backlog for such cases in the same timeframe. In a televised address, Ramaphosa said local governments would have five months to address safety issues, such as broken streetlights and overgrown public spaces. He tasked five ministers with developing a plan within 60 days to reduce alcohol-fueled violence, while emphasizing that alcohol does not cause gender-based violence but can be an aggravating factor. Ramaphosa urged South African men to challenge relatives, friends, and colleagues who harass or abuse women, stating, “It is time for good men to stop being silent men.” He noted that women have been burdened with solving the problem of male violence. The announcements followed the discovery of 11 women's bodies dumped across Ekurhuleni since July 15. Activists expressed frustration over the lack of previous action and skepticism about the effectiveness of the proposed measures, with Amnesty International South Africa highlighting the need for concrete action and consequences for inaction.
Our take
Cyril Ramaphosa has finally discovered that South African women are being murdered in droves, and his big-brained solution is to form a fucking committee and ask for a review. The absolute clown has tasked five ministers to spend 60 days drawing up a plan to maybe, possibly, consider the role of alcohol in all this bloodshed. He was careful to note that booze doesn't *cause* men to slaughter women, it just helps them do it better. What a nuanced fucking take from the nation's top dickhead.
His other groundbreaking initiative is to have police *look at* the pile of unsolved rape and murder cases they've been ignoring. They'll get right on that, right after they clear the 'forensic backlog' he's also just now decided to fund. This is the bureaucratic equivalent of showing up to a house fire with a calendar and suggesting a meeting to discuss the thermal properties of flame.
After 11 bodies were dumped like trash, this grifter's masterstroke is to give local governments five months to fix some streetlights and trim the bushes. Because nothing stops a femicidal maniac like a well-lit pavement. He then had the gall to whine that women have been 'burdened' with solving male violence, before begging the 'good men' to please stop being so quiet while their buddies rape and kill.
It's a symphony of cowardly, administrative bullshit designed to do nothing but create the appearance of a man doing something. Amnesty International's skepticism is the understatement of the century. Ramaphosa hasn't announced a plan; he's announced a series of delays, reviews, and gentle suggestions, wrapped in the empty moralizing of a useless prick who let the bodies stack up before finding his fucking microphone. The only thing he's reducing in 60 days is our faith that this cunt gives a single shit.
