Malema: Legalise prostitution and empower women to fight poverty in SA

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said the South African government must legalise prostitution, arguing that sex workers deserve protection, dignity, and workers’ rights.

Speaking at the EFF Women’s Day rally in Secunda, Mpumalanga, at the weekend, Malema said police abuse and discrimination against sex workers must come to an end.

“We are saying to the South African government, you must legalise prostitution. No one is going to be raped by police in the name of being a prostitute. And when she goes to open a case, they can’t open a case because they say this is a prostitute.

''Prostitution is the oldest profession in the whole world. You may be a Christian; whether you like it or not, prostitution is a job, and there are people who work in it. Respect those people, they too must have protection and workers’ rights,” he said.

Malema stressed that women must be protected “in every space we occupy,” adding that sexual violence happens in all sectors of society.

“Women get raped at church, women get raped at school, women get raped at workplaces, get raped at social places, and they do not rape themselves. They are raped by men. Men have to stand up. And by standing up, you don’t have to do anything. Just stop raping women. Rape will stop in South Africa,” he said.

He also condemned men who target vulnerable women. “We don’t want men who are cowards, who are scared of people their age, who are scared of people of their same gender, and they go and exercise their power over the powerless women.

''No man should lay a hand on a woman. We must protect them. We must respect them. We must provide for them. And any man who doesn’t give women money is an irresponsible man. Women have to receive money. Especially black women.”

Malema said black women deserve special consideration because they endure triple oppression, for their race, gender, and class.

“Why should black women receive money? They were oppressed three times more than us as men. And therefore, for triple oppression, we have a duty to compensate them. Because they’ve gone through pain, they still go through pain.

''They go through pain because they are black. They go through pain because they are women. They go through pain because they are working class. When you see a black woman, you must know this woman is carrying huge burdens on her shoulder and give her the necessary support,” he told supporters.

He also called for urgent action to tackle unemployment among women, saying they are disproportionately affected compared to men.

“We cannot continue to have a situation where the women who are unemployed are more than men. In South Africa, women are more unemployed than men. We have to change those patterns. Why? Because when you give women jobs, when you give women opportunities, you are guaranteed that they will take care of the poor and the children in our townships and rural areas. But when you give men, some of them are using these resources in an irresponsible way,” Malema said.

“At the centre of defeating poverty should be women empowerment. You empower women, you fight poverty. You empower women, you fight inequality. And therefore, everywhere else where we see a woman employed, we must be very happy that at least more than 10 people are going to be looked after from where she comes from,” he said.

hope.ntanzi@io.co.za

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