Who do we call, when even God appears to be silent?

I wrote the below-mentioned article published in the Herald on Monday 22 December 2025.

It is January 2026 – another brutal femicide has been reported.  I wonder how many unreported incidents of GBV have taken place.  Oh well, just another statistic and we just carry on with our lives.

Am I furious ……………you bet.

Government and church must take the scourge of violence more seriously. 

Dear Mr President, heads of churches, political parties – anyone in high places, please listen to us women.

Another 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women has been and gone.  During this time, the government classified GBV and femicide as a national disaster,” recognising that dealing with this scourge demands exceptional measures,” in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s words.

This was after the women of SA called for a total shutdown in support of GBV being recognised as a national disaster,

But we need more than words and promises.

I doubt you have any idea what mass action of this magnitude would mean to the state of our fragile economy.

 I am a wife, an aunt, a godmother, a sister, a woman who believes in the liberating teaching of Jesus: “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for we are all one in Christ”  

In other words we are all share equal status in God’s sight.

Women make up 54.9% of the labour force, according to Stats S A, and I quote: “in this country great strides have been made toward gender equality, however the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QFLS) for the second quarter of 2025 reveals ongoing disparities in the labour market.  South Africa’s national unemployment rate stands at 33.2%, but the figures show that women continue to carry a heavier share of the burden.  The unemployment rate for women is 35.9%, compared to 31.0% for men.  These differences reflect persistent gender imbalances in unemployment, labour force participation, and the sectors in which men and women are employed.”

Mr President, if, all women, excluding those in the medical and safety sectors, embarked on a total shutdown; we will most certainly bring this country to a grinding halt.

Schools, shops, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, national, regional and local government institutions, in fact all businesses will be so badly affected,  and then there will be chaos, because men will be forced to look after their children. – teachers and domestic workers will be part of the shutdown and by 10:00 the stock exchange will also shut down.  While we are gathering in parks and on street corners bearing banners and singing, I do hope you enjoy yourself while “you try and steady the ship” so to speak.   It will be an experience you will never forget.

However, to be fair, some of the blame of this tragic state of affairs needs addressed with the religious community.

Jesus never preached that woman should be submissive to men.  That we need to be quiet or silent or abused or beaten, please explain to me – why are you, the church seemingly silent about this and why do you continue to push this age old untruth.  Church, doesn’t it bother you that we have the highest gender based violence stats in the world   – between January and March 2025 837 women murdered – approximately 9 women killed each day.

We seriously need to address this myth of submission and we need to ask ourselves who it is we follow, Jesus of Nazareth or an ideology based on misogyny.  Men, please stop taking the gospel out of context in order to push a twisted and false narrative because you feel the need to be all powerful and in control.

I am of the firm belief that the time has come for the body of Christ to take a lead in addressing women abuse and femicide within church.  Most churches have Sunday Schools, Men’s Ministry, Women’s Ministry and the like.  This is a challenge to all churches to make 2026 the year of changing the narrative and addressing this scourge.

 It is also time for the body of Christ to spend time in deep introspection and reflection and in those quite moments confront the distorted untruth that women need to be submissive.  Remember, please remember what happened when Mary met a risen Christ in the garden, He asked her to “go and tell”!

We desperately need action and plenty of dialogue where we talk about toxic masculinity, unpack myths about girls and women.  Where we give people space to talk about anger, loss, disappointments, love, tenderness and harmony, a space where we come to recognize that we are all worthy of respect, love and dignity.   In those spaces let us examine how we bring up children, do we encourage discussion and more importantly do we have regular family get together, where we discuss life, love and at the same time acknowledge their emotional and spiritual needs as well as talk about toxic behaviour, respect and kindness.  In other words do we have a set a values by which we live and operate as a family.

I pray that the body of Christ will heed the call to a space of deep introspection and that change, deep meaningful change happens, if not, I wonder what would happen if we called  for a shutdown of all churches and places of worship, and for a while women simply did not show up because God seems to be silent.