Author questions justice system on rape crimes

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The abduction and rape of a sibling had seared one woman's heart so much that she felt moved to respond to the heart-breaking incident with pen and paper – and this is how the publication of She Cries was born.

Rofhiwa Masuwa, who has a degree in nursing science and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in the same study field, is a registered professional nurse working in a primary-health-care facility.

“In 2016, while I was in the library studying for my exams, I received a call from my mother that my younger sister had been abducted and raped on her way back from school,” she said. “I was hurt and disappointed.”

She added that salt was rubbed into her wound when the criminal case against the suspect “went cold, even though the culprit was known. This and all other cases of the abuse of women and children that are being reported daily evoked my emotions and I decided to write a book”.

She Cries deals with what women should do to prevent being abused, especially in their relationships. It also talks about the cultural principles and misinterpreted Christian teachings that instil the wrong morals in men and exacerbate the acts of women abuse.

“After the ill treatment by the justice system when my younger sister was raped, I also felt the need to write my piece about the injustice in the corrupt justice system of South Africa,” she said. “There's more to this book and I think that the onus is on every human to read this story.”

She Cries is available directly from the author at R250. Rofhiwa Masuwa is available on Facebook and can be reached on 079 262 2074 or at [email protected].

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.