Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula concerned about arrest of women for standing up against abuse

National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said the government should not disregard women who were arrested for retaliating against gender-based violence.

Addressing the second presidential summit in Midrand on Tuesday, Nqakula said it seemed the government was avoiding the issue of self-defense against GBV.

She pleaded with officials to address the long prison sentences handed down to women who commit a crime in self-defense.

The former defense minister said she was concerned about the number of women who are serving long sentences for standing up against abuse.

“They’ve had to retaliate, they’ve had to fight for themselves and unfortunately, it ends up with someone’s death.”

She said in her time as an employee at correctional services, she encountered many such women.

The presidential summit on gender-based violence and femicide is addressing several issues facing women and queer people in the country.