Cosatu to join miniskirt march

No arrests yet, police admit

Union federation Cosatu will join the ANC Women’s League’s march against attacks on women wearing miniskirts, spokesman Patrick Craven said on Wednesday.

“The recent attacks... at taxi ranks have cast the spotlight on a deep-seated problem of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and violence which women face daily, at home, at work and just walking in the streets,” Craven said in a statement.

The ANCWL has said it would march against gender-based violence on Friday.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions said it would join the protest in solidarity. “As the Gauteng ANCWL so rightly says: 'The struggle for women’s  emancipation is not over until all forms of discrimination, violence and abuse against women come to an end',” Craven said.

On Wednesday, police said no arrests had been made for the assault on two women at the Noord Street taxi rank in central Johannesburg in December.

“We haven’t arrested anyone,” Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini said.

The women have been identified only as Zama and Nomthandazo because of the nature of their harassment. Nomthandazo wore a black  miniskirt and Zama a black top with white bra straps showing. A group of men taunted them about their clothes while groping them, pulling at their clothing and taking photos with their cellphones.

Almost a week later, the two opened a case of sexual assault, indecent assault and crimen injuria at the Johannesburg central police station. Dlamini said the police had not given up on the case, and were busy following leads.

Closed-circuit television footage of the assault formed part of the investigation, but the faces of the perpetrators were not clearly visible.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele called the act “barbaric”, while Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane condemned the men’s behaviour as “animal-like”.