The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has called for a probe into the inhumane treatment of some looters in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The CGE’s comments come in the wake of ‘acts of insurgency’ that broke out in the country earlier this month.
Many shops and malls mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were looted.
In a statement issued by the CGE, Commission Chairperson, Tamara Mathebula says the CGE cannot turn a blind eye to various videos that have been circulating on social media platforms.
Mathebula says the videos show men, women, the elderly and children being treated in an inhumane manner for stealing.
Mathebula says: “The Commission does not condone any form of stealing, however degrading people and dehumanising them does not also make it less of a crime. There are many ways of punishing people without having their rights infringed as purported in the videos that we have seen.”
Mathebula adds: “We were appalled by the unfortunate incident of women who were made to swim in something that looked like water/alcohol spillage. No matter how angry those who made those women to do such an act allegedly in Mamelodi Mall, it cannot be that women were objectified or demeaned in such a manner. Those women in the videos are mothers, sisters, and aunts to many. Imagine the humiliation they will suffer for having been subjected to such acts.”
