Pearl Thusi: 'Are we a generation willing to die for justice?'

While many took to social media this week to commemorate the sacrifices made by the youth of 1976, actress Pearl Thusi has called on young people to take a stand against femicide and abuse of women and children.

Pearl brought attention to today's struggle of women and children being at the centre of abuse, saying that something needed to be done by this generation.

The actress took to Instagram in honour of the youth involved in the June 16 1976 Soweto student uprising to address the issues faced in the country, questioning whether people were willing to die to get justice.

With a picture of the Soweto uprising, Pearl captioned her post saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same. The powers that be may have changed, but the struggle continues.

“Women are killed. Police are still specifically violent with black people. Are we a generation willing to die for justice? Or are we willing to watch our fellow citizens, especially women and children, be abused and murdered by our very own?”

Pearl added the memory of the youth of June 16 should inspire many to change any issues faced in society today.

“We come from a lineage of brave fighters. We should not be fighting so many years later but this memory should not only remind us, it should inspire us to create and sustain a change that the next generation can build on. No more fighting the Power. We must learn to be the power.”

This is not the only thing Pearl has been vocal about. Just last week, the actress said she'd never defend the killings of other African people due to xenophobia.

Pearl, who's been vocal about the recent protests in America over the killing of George Floyd, shared how she would not limit herself to borders that were drawn by colonisers.

Taking to Twitter, Pearl wrote, “Killing African nationals that reside in SA is something I will never defend. Defending borders drawn by colonisers will never be something I limit myself with.”

While many defended her, others believed Pearl was coming from a place of “privilege” and “incited violence”.

They also claimed that foreigners brought crime to the country, and spawned the hashtag #PearlThusiMustFall.

As that hashtag trended on Twitter, another, #PearlThusiMustRise, joined it.

Weighing in on the battle between her fans and critics online, Pearl said she was not afraid of hashtags, name-calling and personal attacks.