In a show of force, more than 500 women from all walks of life in Limpopo braved the cold and rainy weather and marched 2km in Thohoyandou.

The march was led by the MEC for Transport,  Ms Pinkie Kekana, who was in the company of the mayors from Vhembe and Thulamela. The march started at the Thohoyandou Town Hall.

At the police station, Kekana handed over a memorandum detailing their demands to the acting station commissioner, Col Livhuwani Lukoto. From the police station,  they walked back to the town hall, where a formal function was held.

The event, which took place last Thursday, coincided with the official launch of the 16 days of activism against violence on women and children.

Just before the start of the march, it started to rain, but the heavy rain could not dampen the spirits of the women. The march was characterised by the singing of slogans denouncing rapists.

Among the demands by the women was that police intensify the fight against the abuse of women and children. The women also demanded that police revisit all the outstanding unresolved cases involving women and childen in the area.

Addressing the crowd, Kekana said many of the atrocities in the province were perpetuated against women and children. She said cases of ritual murder, which were always reported in this area, mostly had women and children as the victims. She commended organisations that had taken it upon themselves and were fighting to end this scourge.

She singled out organisations like the Progressive Women’s Movement and the Thohoyandou Victims Empowerment Programme, which are championing the fight against abuse against women and children .

Kekana urged the community not to keep quiet and to report cases of violence against women and children, saying that if they kept quiet it bred grounds enough for those cases to be swept under the carpet.

She said the war against the abuse of women and children would never be won if everyone did not stand up and help each other in the fight. She also urged the police to speed up cases that involved women and children.

The convener of the Progressive Women’s Movement in Vhembe, Avhapfani Mamedzi, said women should stand up against abuse and report cases whenever they came across them. Acting station commissioner Livhuwani Lukoto said the police would look at the memorandum and deal with the issues raised.