By: Aneeqa du Plessis

With brutal cases of Gender-Based-Violence continuing unabated across the nation during Women’s Month, the VOC Breakfast team will celebrate the courageous survivors of domestic abuse by broadcasting live on Women’s Day from the Ihata Shelter in Heideveld on the Cape Flats.

The organisation first opened its doors in 2006 and has helped hundreds of women and children who have been victims of domestic abuse. Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Friday morning, director at the Ihata Shelter Nuraan Osman says the organisation facilitates a range of interventions to help uplift women and children in the community.

“We may run with a Muslim ethos, but we accept women from all walks of life whether it is referrals from the hospital, police or even prison. It doesn’t matter what your culture, religion, and creed is. All are welcome,” explained Osman.

There is a specific 90-day programme for abused women who live at the shelter, which involves coaching, therapy and skills development.

The VOC team have encouraged listeners to drop off hygiene care-packages at the radio station’s headquarters (2 Queenspark Avenue, Salt River) for the women who are stationed at the shelter. The donations are set to be delivered on Women’s day next week.

“We decided on care packs because it’s feminine products that provide dignity to victims of GBV,” explained VOC Breakfast Content producer, Loushe Jordaan Gilbert.

According to Osman, women who arrive at the shelter usually come with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“We take for granted that we have a facecloth, toothpaste and pads and we forget how much dignity these products give us as women,” said Osman.

“It means so much to women who have been treated like nothing with nothing,” added Osman.

According to SA President Cyril Ramaphosa, GBV and femicide are deep-rooted societal problems. In his weekly newsletter, he said the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, Gauteng last week, is an affront to the right of women and girls to live and work in freedom and safety. Ramaphosa says it is not enough for perpetrators to be apprehended, tried, convicted, and sentenced. He added everyone must work together to address the drivers of gender-based violence in communities, including patriarchal attitudes and practices.

VOC