GBV orgs support Chidimma amid nasty xenophobic attacks
Gender-based violence activists Women For Change have publicly shown their support to Miss SA finalist Chidimma Adetshina, who has become a victim of nasty xenophobic attacks.
The 23-year-old LLB student has been subjected to social media attacks after she revealed that her father is Nigerian
The 2024 Miss SA crowning takes place on Saturday, 10 August, at the SunBet Area in Pretoria.
WOMEN FOR CHANGE BACKS CHIDIMMA ADETSHINA
On their X account, Women For Change has publicly supported Chidimma Adetshina amid the backlash, in Women’s Month, no less.
The account tweeted: “Shine bright like a diamond. Chidimma. We stand with you.”
The activists also clapped back at the political party, the Patriotic Alliance, whose leaders Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene have spread xenophobic and Afrophobic comments about Chidimma.
Responding to a PA statement claiming it would interdict Chidimma from participating in the pageant, Women For Change responded: “This party is a f***** joke! Spreading hate nothing else”.
Fellow NGO Sonke Gender Justice also condemned the attacks against Chidimma, referring to it as “Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence.”
It said in a statement: “Sonke Gender Justice further calls on members of the public to desist from undermining Adetshina’s rights as a South African citizen and subjecting her to further TFGBV, abuse, and harassment, which is harmful to her and undermines the spirit of the constitution.
“As South Africans, we can do better, we must do better, by being kinder and more compassionate towards one another. Any power that seeks to ‘other’ or oppress another does not have a place in our democracy. Xenophobia and racism are two sides of the same coin. They are a threat to peace and human security”.
STANDING UP FOR GBV
In Miss SA’s entry video, Chidimma Adetshina revealed that her mission was to help victims of GBV.
In one Instagram post, she shared: “A woman with a voice is a definition of a strong woman. Show up. Be present. Be committed”.
Although Chidimma has made no mention of being a victim of GBV, she did reveal that she left her marriage over unfair gender roles imposed on her.
She told Sowetan: “I got divorced in February. We were not compatible because he had this ideology of what an African married woman is. I didn’t want to be in a position where I couldn’t go out but had to clean, cook… that was just not for me because, as a society, we are way past that phase”.