The Women’s Legal Centre added its voice in condemning Zapiro’s latest cartoon depicting a black woman being gang raped by the president and his cronies.
“One cannot compare the current political and economic challenges to a woman being raped.
“SA citizens may feel helpless and angry but this is nothing like how women feel when they have been raped‚” the centre said in a statement.
Jonathan Shapiro‚ the cartoonist known as Zapiro‚ had responded to criticism on social media to his latest cartoon‚ where President Jacob Zuma can be seen handing a rape victim draped in the South African flag to one of the Gupta brothers‚ by explaining that he used rape as a metaphor.
Shapiro said that he‚ like so many other artists‚ had become “desperate to find ways to make a strong statement” about the current situation in the country.
However‚ the centre did not accept this explanation.
It said Zapiro’s cartoon did not make a strong political point.
“It is insensitive and out of touch with the lived realities of women in South Africa.”
The centre said by using the rape imagery‚ Zapiro was appropriating women’s experiences.
“There are other ways in which to portray the challenges currently facing South Africa.”
The centre said South Africa had the highest rape statistics in the world‚ yet the majority of women did not report rape attacks and this cartoon enforced the stigma and the reasons rape was under-reported.
It said Zapiro’s cartoon was a form of violence as it triggered real pain for rape survivors.
“It is a form of white entitlement on Zapiro’s part as he is representing black bodies without thought and acknowledgement of white privilege.”
It said rape should not be used as a metaphor for anything.
“Zapiro is stoking racial animosity by objectifying black women (and men). Black men as hypersexualised rapists — black women’s bodies as always available to be raped. These are malicious stereotypes of black sexuality.”
It said black women’s bodies did not stand as a representation of the South African nation‚ or representations for what men fight over.
Zapiro at it again: lazy, unimaginative, literal & no regard for careful, sustained engagement by many with his use of this rape analogy.
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Women’s Legal Centre not happy with Shapiro’s latest rape cartoon
The Women’s Legal Centre added its voice in condemning Zapiro’s latest cartoon depicting a black woman being gang raped by the president and his cronies.
“One cannot compare the current political and economic challenges to a woman being raped.
“SA citizens may feel helpless and angry but this is nothing like how women feel when they have been raped‚” the centre said in a statement.
Jonathan Shapiro‚ the cartoonist known as Zapiro‚ had responded to criticism on social media to his latest cartoon‚ where President Jacob Zuma can be seen handing a rape victim draped in the South African flag to one of the Gupta brothers‚ by explaining that he used rape as a metaphor.
Shapiro said that he‚ like so many other artists‚ had become “desperate to find ways to make a strong statement” about the current situation in the country.
However‚ the centre did not accept this explanation.
It said Zapiro’s cartoon did not make a strong political point.
“It is insensitive and out of touch with the lived realities of women in South Africa.”
The centre said by using the rape imagery‚ Zapiro was appropriating women’s experiences.
“There are other ways in which to portray the challenges currently facing South Africa.”
The centre said South Africa had the highest rape statistics in the world‚ yet the majority of women did not report rape attacks and this cartoon enforced the stigma and the reasons rape was under-reported.
It said Zapiro’s cartoon was a form of violence as it triggered real pain for rape survivors.
“It is a form of white entitlement on Zapiro’s part as he is representing black bodies without thought and acknowledgement of white privilege.”
It said rape should not be used as a metaphor for anything.
“Zapiro is stoking racial animosity by objectifying black women (and men). Black men as hypersexualised rapists — black women’s bodies as always available to be raped. These are malicious stereotypes of black sexuality.”
It said black women’s bodies did not stand as a representation of the South African nation‚ or representations for what men fight over.
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