Don't Go On A Date 🔪 - by Letters From Delight

Olorato Mongale, a 30 year old post graduate student at the university of Witwatersrand and journalism graduate from Rhodes University, went on a date with a man she had recently met. She was last seen leaving her residence at Atholl. Her body was later found in an open field in Lombardy West. DON'T GO TO UNIVERSITYZolile Khumalo, a 21 year old student at Mangosuthu University of technology, was shot dead in her dormitory by her ex-boyfriend, who gained unauthorized access to the Campus. DON'T GO TO THE POST OFFICEUyinene Mrwetyana, a 19 year old UCT student, was lured to the post office under the pretence of collecting a parcel. There she was raped and bludgeoned to death by a poster worker who had premeditated the attack. DON'T GO HOMELindiwe Chibi, a renowned actress, was shot dead in the face by her partner in her mother's home. She succumbed to her injuries after a prolonged coma stay. DON'T GO TO THE STREETNxolo Nogwaza, a lesbian right activist, was raped, stoned and stabbed to death in what is believed to be a hate crime. Her body was found In a drainage ditch. DON'T EXIST AT ALLNosicelo Mtebeni, a 23 year old law student at the university of Fort Hore, was brutally murdered and dismembered by her boyfriend in August 2021. Her body parts were found in a suitcase and plastic bags on the streets of East London. The rest of her body was found inside the man's boarding room. DON'T GO TO THE CLUBHannah Cornelius, a universal student, was abducted after a night out, raped and murdered by a group of men. Her tragic underscores the perils woman face even in social settings. DON'T TAKE A TAXIGabisile Shabane, a 13 year old girl with albinism, was kidnapped from her home along with her younger brother. Gabisile was later found murdered- her body multilated for suspected ritual purposes. Her case brought to light the deadly intersection of GBV and harmful traditional beliefs. DON'T GO TO YOUR PARTNERTshegofatso Pule, eight months pregnant, was murdered by a hitman hired by her partner. Her body was found hanging from a tree, a vivid testament to intimate partner violence. DON'T GO TO THE BATHROOMReeva Steenkamp, was shot multivitamin times throughout a locked bathroom door by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, who claimed he mistook her for an intruder. The case drew international attention to domestic violence issue. Tell me where next I shouldn't go.Tell me I shouldn't exist.Tell me to be more protective of another gender that would go any length.Blame the victim - that borded a taxi, or that trusted her lover. Every 3 hours one of us does not make it. Tell me again how I should shrink myself into safety.Tell me again how it is not men, but my choices, my trust, my existence. If safety demands my silence, my fear, my erasure - then the question is no longer where shouldn’t I go?The question is- why must I stop living for others to stop killing? Not all men, they say - yet every story begins with one. So I ask again - Am I next?.

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