https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / Statements RSS ← Back
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

WLC: Zapiro cartoon re-enforces rape culture

Close

Embed Video

WLC: Zapiro cartoon re-enforces rape culture

WLC: Zapiro cartoon re-enforces rape culture

12th April 2017

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) strongly condemns Zapiro's latest cartoon depicting a black woman being gang raped by the president and his cronies.  One cannot compare the current political and economic challenges to a woman being raped.  SA citizens may feel helpless and angry but this is nothing like how women feel when they have been raped. By using the rape imagery Zapiro is appropriating women's experiences. There are  other ways in which to portray the challenges currently facing  South Africa.

South Africa has the highest rape statistics in the world, yet the majority of women do not report and this cartoon enforces the stigma and the reasons rape is under reported.  Thus, we condemn this cartoon for a number of reasons:

  • Zapiro’s cartoon is a form of violence as it triggers real pain for rape survivors.
  • It is a form of white entitlement on Zapiro’s part as he is representing black bodies without thought and acknowledgement of white privilege.
  • Rape should not be used as metaphor for anything. This kind of representation normalises rape.
  • Zapiro is stoking racial animosity by objectifying black women (and men). Black men as hypersexualised rapists -- black women's bodies as always available to be raped. These are malicious stereotypes of black sexuality.
  • Lastly and most importantly black women's bodies do not stand as a representation of the South African nation, or representations for what men fight over.

The greatest pain in this country falls upon the black woman. Zapiro's cartoon is neither humorous or makes a strong political point. It is insensitive and out of touch with the lived realities of women in South Africa.

Advertisement

 

Issued by Women’s Legal Centre

Advertisement

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

 

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Email Registration Success

Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to one or more of Creamer Media’s email newsletters. You should start receiving the email newsletters in due course.

Our email newsletters may land in your junk or spam folder. To prevent this, kindly add newsletters@creamermedia.co.za to your address book or safe sender list. If you experience any issues with the receipt of our email newsletters, please email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za