Gender commission condemns assault and demeaning of woman train driver in Pretoria

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is appalled at the barbaric action of some rail commuters who stripped naked a female train driver, hit her with a brick, and dragged her into bushes during the ongoing attacks on trains along the Pretoria to Pienaarsport corridor, the commission said on Sunday.

“The CGE condemns this demeaning and objectifying of this woman train driver. No amount of provocation caused by the delay of the train warranted any person to senselessly attack a defenseless and helpless woman,” the commission said in a statement.

The CGE called on commuters who were on the train on the day in question, Tuesday March 13, to work together with the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Metrorail Security Service (MSS), and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to identify the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

Such criminality and terrifying action could not be allowed to happen. South Africans united in their diversity should condemn such a gruesome act. This would send a strong message to those who “feel they can do as they please and attack women willy-nilly”, the CGE said.

The commission applauded the quick intervention of the MSS who saved the woman’s life. In a country where gender-based violence cases were alarmingly high, it was worrying when people misdirected their anger at a defenseless woman.

Such acts needed to be nipped in the bud. The perpetrators of this crime had to face the full might of the law. Police should leave no stone unturned in ensuring that there was justice for the female train driver. A precedent had to be set so that would-be perpetrators of such ruthless acts were “stopped in their trails”, the commission said.

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