EDITORIAL | What hope do we have if our ‘educated’ leaders perpetuate myths?

When basic education minister Angie Motshekga addressed Pretoria pupils at the opening of the school year on Monday, not only did she cause outrage with her comment that educated men don’t rape, she inadvertently created a teachable moment. 

In a video, the longest-serving education minister in our country’s history was heard saying the government was prioritising education as a way to deal with challenges in the community because “an educated man won’t rape ... akere?”, or do they, Motshekga reframed the statement. 

“I thought they need to be a bit civilised not to do certain things, now I’m disappointed. My theory is that the more educated you are, the more sophisticated you are, the less you get involved in wrong things because you can look after yourself, your family, you can look after your environment,” Motshekga elaborated in response to derision from the pupils.

Fail!

Thankfully, the youngsters didn’t buy what the minister was selling and schooled her. 

The unforeseen and unexpected lesson that emerged was that this former president of the ANC Women’s League is out of touch with the very real issues of rape and gender-based violence (GBV). 

Thankfully, the youngsters didn't buy what the minister was selling and schooled her. 

The education department immediately responded to the heat with a defensive statement of clarity and context. 

“Rape is indeed about power, hence the department has programmes to educate the boy child to appreciate the importance of how to deal with power relations between men and women from a young age. Therefore, my remarks must not be taken out of context of educating children to develop them to become better people,” she said.

“Men need to be educated about how to deal with power, patriarchy and negative or toxic masculinity. Educating men about power relations is also important in the fight against rape.”

But perhaps the same department officials who rushed off to pen the statement should arrange for the minister to meet the following former educators: Joseph Leisa, principal of Empumelelweni Primary School in Whittlesea, Eastern Cape, who was dismissed for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old pupil; Thembinkosi Mbatha, who was fired from a KwaZulu-Natal secondary school after he grabbed a 15-year-old girl’s buttocks and “uttered words with sexual undertone” to two others; David Skippers, who was dismissed from Calitzdorp High School in the Western Cape after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two boys, aged 14 and 16; Jabulani Mahlangu, deputy principal of Kusasalethu Comprehensive School in Secunda, Mpumalanga, who lost an appeal against dismissal for locking a grade 8 girl in his office and kissing her; and Cape Town teacher Gino Rhoda, who groomed a grade 7 boy, who began abusing drugs and alcohol and attempted suicide to deal with the sexual trauma.

Or perhaps the officials should take up the invitation from the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), which released a statement in response to Motshekga’s comments and offered the minister an opportunity to engage with it or others working with GBV to learn more about their experiences with victims and survivors. 

The CALS highlighted a 2019 case before the Constitutional Court in which it appeared as a friend of the court. There, justice Sisi Khampepe noted: “The notion that rape is committed by sexually deviant monsters with no self control is misplaced. Law databases are replete with cases that contradict this notion. Often, those who rape are fathers, brothers, uncles, husbands, lovers, mentors, bosses and colleagues. We commune with them. We share stories and coffee with them. We jog with them. We work with them. They are ordinary people who lead normal lives.

“Terming rapists as monsters and degenerates tends to normalise the incidents of rape committed by men we know because they are not ‘monsters’ — they are rational and well-respected men in the community. Yes, the abominable behaviour of these men is abhorrent and grotesque, and the recognition that they are human does not seek to evoke sympathy — it serves to signify a switch from characterising rapists as out-of-control monsters and centres the notion that rapists are humans who choose to abuse their power. The idea that rape is committed by monsters and animals may have adverse effects in that it may lead to the reinforcement of rape myths and stereotypes.”

The reality is that GBV is a pernicious evil — an ongoing pandemic which sees the blood of women and children stain our social fabric daily. 

The vaccine to this pandemic is a complicated multi-stage inoculation that encompasses reversing harmful and backward societal norms, harnessing the efficacy of the justice and police systems, and holding government to account in eradicating this tyranny.

So if the people who lead us, who represent us, hold views that are discriminatory and insulting, or perpetuate myths and stereotypes, we are doomed. And we need to call them out, as the pupils of Nellmapius Secondary School and the CALS did, ensuring a teachable moment can’t be wasted.

After all, you learn something new every day, minister, akere?