Empowering women and girls in South Africa

29.06.2009 In the far east of South Africa, at the edge of the Kruger National Park and near the borders with Mozambique and Swaziland, Ipas has been supporting an organization that is promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights in a traditionally conservative and rural area. The Masisukumeni Women’s Crisis Center is a rare organization, serving women and children in 38 villages, miles from the nearest city. But its holistic mission in an area with few resources drew Ipas South Africa to support its work beginning in 2006.

Masisukumeni, which means “let’s stand up” in the local language siSwati, assists between 30 and 40 women and girls each month. The clients range from survivors of domestic violence and rape to child sexual abuse, says director Rachel Nkosi. The organization provides counselling after rape and ensures that victims understand their medical and legal options, including the right to safe abortion care.

“Women and girls in the area need to be made aware that these services exist, and also about the circumstances and conditions under which pregnancy may be terminated safely and legally,” according to the 60-year-old Nkosi, who has devoted her life to community work.

Ipas South Africa provides the 15-year-old organization with funding to support 10 female volunteers. These volunteers have been trained by Ipas South Africa to provide information on sexual and reproductive health and rights to the local residents that Masisukumeni serves. In addition, Ipas South Africa provides ongoing training to the volunteers on a regular basis.

Since Ipas began its partnership with Masisukumeni, women and girls throughout the area have become aware that safe abortion care is available from state health facilities, states Buyile Buthelezi, Ipas South Africa’s program coordinator. The Ipas-sponsored volunteers also help the victims of sexual and domestic violence navigate the police and health system.

Masisukumeni noted that it is frequently difficult for women to get the necessary assistance from the police and state hospitals and clinics.

Ipas South Africa has been impressed with the sound relationships that Masisukumeni has developed with the local police station and clinics, enthuses Buthelezi.

Still, there are a number of challenges involved in working in such an isolated region. One is patriarchal interpretations of culture and religion to dissuade women from seeking appropriate interventions after an assault, such as safe abortion care. One myth that Nkosi and her colleagues hear is that sickness will befall the husband or boyfriend of a woman who has had an abortion. Such a woman has to be “cleansed” by a herbal doctor (“inyanga”) and refrain from indulging in sex for six months.

Social pressures, especially from family members, have also prevented women from reporting rape. In cases of domestic violence, victims sometimes choose not to charge their attackers because they are financially dependent on them — intimate partners who are sometimes also the main breadwinners in the household. These women often turn Masisukumeni to find counseling for the perpetrators.

Another challenge is Masisukumeni’s location near the borders with Swaziland and Mozambique. Many of their clients are illegal immigrants who don’t know their rights and who face abuse and exploitation, not only by attackers, but also at the hands of officials of South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs. For such cases, the organization has two paralegals, a vital service in a country where more than 60 people were killed in attacks on immigrants last year, but where sound legal advice is hard to come by.

It might seem like a daunting undertaking, but Nkosi knows that all of these issues are interlinked: victims of sexual violence need access to legal as well as medical resources, but they must also know their human rights. Rape is a crime that also holds the danger of HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy. Masisukumeni approach their work in a holistic way so that women and girls can find justice and healing.