Protesters during the #AmINext silent protest at the Cape Town International Convention Center on 04 September 2019 | Image: Twitter/ @sweattweets
A group of South African women organised under the name “Am I Next” engaged in a silent protest to the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC) to demand action from President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the ongoing problems of femicide and gender-based violence in South Africa.
The organisation’s name was derived from a question that various social media users began to ask this week after news of the deaths of boxing champ Leighandre ‘Baby Lee’ Jegels and UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana.
The question was then turned into a hashtag #AmINext, which has also since been used to out perpetrators of sexual violence in a version of the #MeToo moment for South Africa.
The CTICC is currently where the 2019 World Economic Forum on Africa is happening featuring delegates from all over the world. Ramaphosa is also in attendance.
Although he has not yet addressed the crowd, they were attended to by Dr Olive Shisana, who is the chair of a special task team on gender-based violence established by Ramaphosa’s administration.
Ramaphosa has yet to respond to the protestors’ concerns.
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