“The Law of carnage” a review by Dr Rapiti, Cape Town

[Nat Quinn]

“The Law of carnage” a review by Dr Rapiti, Cape Town

The one-woman play, brilliantly acted by the outstanding actress, Chia Mhenda, at the Baxter is an absolute must-see for every South African.
In a riveting, spellbound and gripping 80 minutes, the play lays bare the unstoppable violence against women in our country; the vulnerability of women; the gross failure of the law, justice system and our government to protect women in this country from barbaric violent sick and depraved males, ready to pounce on our females.
We have one of the greatest constitutions in the world to protect our women but we, sickeningly, lack the ability or will to put perpetrators behind bars.
A strong case is often dismissed because of a minor administrative error, like a name that is spelt incorrectly by a sleepy constable.

The worst part of reporting a rape, is the humiliation that a rape victim has to go through when she or he reports the abuse to a heartless judgemental male police officer, whose mind is on eating his Kentucky fry chicken, while taking the history in his worst hand writing in a document, which will mysteriously disappear into thin air.
In our male dominated society, women are bizarrely blamed for their rape because of the way they dress. The barbaric behaviour of the deranged male rapist thug/s who vicariously prey on defenceless women are rarely ever mentioned.
Women live like prisoners in their own homes, not knowing when a perpetrator is about to pounce on them, as they go to bed at night. All the locks in the world are not enough to protect them. Not even the elderly are spared. Protests and placards, screaming for help, merely fall on deaf ears of our apathetic politicians.
Chia, playing the part of a frustrated prosecutor, ends the play with the plaintive call: the current systems of law and justice have failed women in this country so badly that they have to be replaced completely. I totally agree.
Your attendance in droves could be the springboard of a movement to replace the current failed system because the 16 days of activism in December for the last 30 years was nothing more than a useless charade. We need to change the entire system.
Top marks to Chia for her outstanding performance and for getting her message across so powerfully. A well deserved 10 out of 10.

Dr E V Rapiti
Cape Town
23/03/2024

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