Men's attitude towards women a problem: Motshekga

Patriarchy in society and men's attitude towards women is a problem, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Thursday.

   

"There is an entitlement that men have... It starts much earlier, when boys are born they are celebrated and the power and sense of entitlement starts there," Motshekga said during a The New Age business briefing.

  

"Women were also taught from an early age to bow down to men.

 

"It is just about men's attitude and the way we socialise them in this country, and the structure of patriarchy which gives men the sense that they have the right to harm, to an extent of killing, women. That is the key issue," Motshekga said.

   

She was asked whether the issue of gender-based violence should not be incorporated into curricula at schools.

   

"The school curriculum has incorporated issues of gender violence in schools. We might need to further strengthen those parts which already exist." 

   

She said reasons for gender-based violence were multifaceted.

   

"It comes in different facets. Anene Booysen didn't need anything from those men. She had gone out as a young woman to enjoy herself, then she became a victim of violence. Booysen was gang-raped and died in Bredasdorp in February."

   

She referred to the "Modimolle Monster" case where Ina Bonnette's ex-husband Johan Kotze and three men were found guilty of raping and torturing Bonnette and murdering her son.

   

"That was just really about humiliating the woman -- it's about their attitude [towards women]" Motshekga said. Motshekga was participating in a panel discussion on gender violence, screened on SABC2.

   

- Sapa