ANOTHER WOMAN’S BODY FOUND AT OLIFANTSFONTEIN — HOW MANY MORE?

Another woman’s body was discovered at Olifantsfontein this morning, adding to a growing sense of fear and vulnerability among women who are asking a painful question: When did simply being a woman become something we have to fear?

The discovery has once again placed women’s safety under the spotlight.

For many women, the fear is not only about walking alone at night. It is about getting into a taxi, accepting a lift, going to work, meeting someone they know, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We have been told to be careful.

Don’t walk alone.
Don’t wear revealing clothes.
Don’t travel at night.
Don’t trust strangers.
Share your location.
Carry your phone.
Hide your valuables.
And, increasingly, hide yourself.

But why should women have to make themselves smaller, quieter and less visible just to feel safe?

Women are constantly reminded that their bodies can attract unwanted attention. Their clothing is scrutinised. Their appearance is discussed. Their movements are questioned. Somehow, the responsibility for preventing violence is repeatedly placed on the woman — instead of on the person who chooses to harm her.

A woman should not have to cover every part of her body because she is afraid of becoming a target.

She should not have to change the way she walks, dresses, speaks or lives because someone else may decide to objectify her.

And she certainly should not have to wonder whether she will make it home alive.

The discovery at Olifantsfontein is more than another disturbing incident. It is a reminder that behind every unidentified body is a woman who had a life, a name, people who loved her, dreams she carried and somewhere she was supposed to return to.

As investigations continue, questions must be asked about how women are protected, how missing women are reported and investigated, and whether enough is being done to prevent violence against women before another body is found.

Because women deserve more than warnings.

We deserve safety. We deserve dignity. We deserve to live without constantly calculating the risks of simply existing.

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question of all is this:

How many more women must be found before society stops asking women how they should behave — and starts asking why men continue to believe they have the right to hurt them?