THE scourge of rape that plagues Mzansi needs to be rooted out.
Every day 3 600 women are raped by men walking among us, yet no one seems to care.
But now a hard-hitting, in your face drive will see artists hanging 3 600 pairs of women’s underwear on a massive 1,2km wash line over downtown Joburg from 25 November to 4 December. This is to create awareness for the 16 Days of Activism campaign.
The panties will later be turned into a unique wedding dress to be used in dramatic performance art piece by Nondumiso Msimanga.
Sculptor Jenny Nijenhuis, the co-founder, said the campaign hoped to make rape a discussion that was difficult to ignore. The two artists will work on the public art installation with SoMa Art + Space in Maboneng.
Ndumiso and Jenny are both survivors of sexual abuse and were distressed by the number of those accused of rape who go unpunished.
A 2010 study by the Medical Research Council found just one person in 25 in Gauteng even reported rape.
The project is asking for donations of new underwear to be sent to various rape crisis organisations in care packs.
Various activism events will take place in the streets of the precinct. Other artists are asked to share their stories of rape through artistic forms ending in an exhibition at Soma, The Things We Do For Love.
Partners in the project include Amnesty International, Powa, the Gender Equity Office at Wits, Drama for Life and Big Fish School of Filmmaking.
