South Africa Is Among World’s Most Unsafest Places For Women – This Woman Is Working To Make A Difference

South African women and children’s activist has been named among the top 100 most influential and inspiring women in the world.

Lucinda Evans, 47 who is also a human rights defender has worked relentlessly for women’s rights in South Africa.

She has appeared in British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s the top 100 most influential and inspiring women for 2019.

According to BBC, the women chosen in the top 100 list “made the headlines or influenced important stories over the past 12 months, as well as those who have inspiring stories to tell, achieved something significant or influenced their societies in ways that wouldn’t necessarily make the news.”

The activist has been a voice for women and she has tirelessly led countrywide rallies pushing the government to take action against gender-based violence.

Through her non-profit organisation, Philisa Abafazi Bethu which translates to ‘heal our women’ Lucinda is protecting and empowering abused women and children. She started the initiative alone and solely funded the project at its initial stages.

The organisation offers services like counseling, search committees for kidnapped girls and safe houses for women escaping domestic abuse.

“My hopes, as a Khoisan woman, are that we will one day be freed from violence against our bodies, and the bodies of our daughters, sisters, mothers, and aunties. I hope that one day we will have a female president. For this, I will continue to advocate and rise in pain to power, she told BBC.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women, with a rate that is five times the global average, this is according to a 2015 survey by the South African Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Last month the South African government declared gender-based violence a national crisis. A government report earlier revealed a woman is killed every three hours in South Africa, and before being murdered, many of them are assaulted and raped.

Statistics from the department of Police also revealed close to 3,000 women were murdered between April 2018 and March 2019, translating to 7 being killed a day.

Not long ago, the Southern African country was also said to be the most dangerous for women on solo trips.

With the high rate of femicide and abuse for women, Lucinda took it upon herself to make a difference. In a bid to create a safe haven for women, she set up a safe house in Lavender Hill where women are given the chance to change their lives and live without fear.

Featured Image Courtesy: Photo: Anso Thom