Charl Cilliers SAPS honour women on the frontline

The Charl Cilliers SAPS’ Women’s Network recently held its second annual gala dinner for women on the frontline at the Unicor Club in Evander.

Local women working on the frontlines throughout the district attended the event, including police district commander Brigadier Lizzy Mtungwa; the Govan Mbeki Municipality’s fire chief, Shely Tshabalala; Nomfundo Mahlangu, the head of disaster management in GMM; Dudu Ngwenyama, the head of the women’s prison in Bethal and GMM’s first lady, Sister Zuma.

In her keynote address, Mtungwa said more women in positions of power were needed. According to her, there were shortages of women in station commanders’ positions and women visible policing commanders.

A young ex-offender was at the event, who served 15 years for murdering her boyfriend. The topic of her speech was Loving yourself enough to walk away.

This young woman said women must not be afraid to start afresh to save their sanity.

“They must never settle for being victims of abuse because they might end up being the offenders,” she said.

Constable Millicent Mqoco from Charl Cilliers, who organised the event, stole the limelight with her dazzling ball gown.

She said the gala dinner was not just a celebratory event for women but also a platform for businesswomen to motivate other women to create something out of the little they had, which could also serve as a stress reliever.

“We are not immune to societal issues such as economic struggles and domestic relationships.”

Mqoco said the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson mentioned that women on the frontline often protected their abusers because of their positions and sometimes because their abusers were superiors in law enforcement.

However, that should not be the reason for women to normalise abuse. Several women received certificates of appreciation.

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