Reverend June Major, with community activist Roegshanda Pascoe, members of the Cape Flats community, the UDF, EFF, and The Butterfly J H Foundation marched to Parliament on Thursday to hand over a memorandum to the President.
With a memorandum of demands for the President in hand, women, men and teenagers alike took to the streets on Thursday and marched to Parliament for the lives lost due to Gender-Based violence brought on by parolees.
“Two of the killings of the past month were crimes by parolees, there has not been much noise made about that and so we need to be united. Not too long ago we had the hashtag #amInext, and I refuse to subscribe to that hashtag, simply because I do not want to be next. We want to live,” said Reverend June Major.
“We should stop making the abnormal normal, and that is what I am here to say. I want to say to our nation let’s not wait until you become a victim, let’s stop it now, collectively in unity. It’s time we pull together as a nation and say to the government we are the government and we are telling you, no more bail, we don’t want paroles for rape and murder. If you want to do something for us, life sentences, that is all we are asking for,” Roegshanda Pascoe
Reverend June Major continued to say that she respected the President but that there are loopholes within the statement he released highlighting Gender-Based violence. “The President said no death penalty, he said that each one has a right to life. With all respect to our President, by saying everyone has a right to life, you’re saying our murderers have a right to life, which then means a right to kill us and we deny that right.”
The Reverend continued to ask the communities to stand up and join in the fight against Gender-Based Violence by speaking up and not covering up for family, friends, and neighbours.
The following was listed in the memorandum, which was accepted on behalf of the President by a representative of the house:
- Victim offended dialog to take place
- Reports of the criminal’s criminologist and parole board to be made public
- Bring back the death penalty for rapists and murderers
- Life sentences with no parole
- No parole
- All rights revoked, no TV, letters, recreational activities, studying, medical aid
- Call back all parolees who have been charged with sexual crimes and murders
- Lay criminal charges against those responsible for allowing rapists and murders out on parole
