Stellenbosch University
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Women on campus tackle gender discrimination
Author: Corporate Communication/Korporatiewe Kommunikasie
Published: 09/03/2017

Hundreds of Stellenbosch University (SU) students took to the streets on International Women's Day yesterday (Wednesday 8 March) as part of the Start Letting Us Talk (Slut) Walk, an initiative that aims to take a stand against rape culture and gender discrimination.

"We are bombarded with hypersexualised images of females every day, they are around us every single day, encouraging the normalisation of female objectification. Unfortunately the media and society is not empowering us women. The media sends the message that women need to be pretty, not powerful," said newly appointed SRC Chairperson, Nomzamo Ntombela. "This is incredibly harmful to our culture at large. We also need to realise that racial inequality is related to gender inequality. Rape culture exists on our campuses – we need to start talking."

The march, primarily consisting of female students, made its way through Victoria Street and Merriman Street to raise awareness for the cause. Many women bore signs such as "Stop silencing us' and 'Still not asking for it'.

The Slut Walk March forms part of ongoing initiatives on campus that tackles gender equality issues and efforts to dismantle rape culture.

Last year, SU appointed a task team, chaired by Dr Birgit Schreiber, Senior Director: Student Affairs, to investigate rape culture. For more information, click here.