The women’s league of the ruling African National Congress in South Africa is pushing for the castration of rapists.
The powerful ANC branch made the call on Tuesday. It urged South Africans to back lobbying efforts for the adoption of castration as a punishment for convicted rapists.
The Daily Maverick reports that women within the ANC believe castrating rapists could help address the growing trend of rape in South Africa.
On Tuesday hundreds of South Africans staged a protest outside a Magistrate Court in Pretoria. The court was hearing a case involving a man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl.
The accused is a 20-year-old man. He raped the young girl in a restroom at a Pretoria franchise of the family restaurant chain Dros last month.
The man reportedly followed the girl into the women’s restroom. He then pulled the girl into a men’s washroom before raping her.
The suspect appeared at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. He was remanded into custody and the case was adjourned to November 1.
ANC women’s league statement
The ANC Women’s League in a statement signed by it’s president Meokgo Matuba said “The ANCWL is calling for public to discuss and lobby the Parliament to adopt laws that will allow chemical castration or any form of castration of convicted rapists”.
The statement on Tuesday also said “South Africa must benchmark with Russia, South Korea, Australia, Germany, United States, United Kingdom and other countries where rapists are being administered drugs that reduce their high level of libido and curtail their uncontrollable barbaric sexual desires”.
The ANC Women’s League however said it is “not oblivious to the fact that there will be those who will argue that castration is a retributive form of justice and is a violation of human rights.
Their views will be respected, but is our firm view that rape crimes violate the rights of the victims, disturbs society’s sense of peace, security and order, therefore the rights of perpetrators of such crimes should not supersede the rights of the victims”.
South Africa is among the top countries globally with with one of the highest incidences of rape. Many South Africans are unhappy with the country’s justice system in dealing with rapists.
Source: Africafeeds.com
