South African media personality, Unathi Nkayi, has once again advocated against the rise of Gender Based Violence in a recent Instagram video shared on Tuesday, 17 November 2020. The Idols SA judge called out those who have pinned the blame on women who have fallen victim at the hands of men, by questioning their stance on the matter.
In particular, she spat fire against Pastor Jadezweni who claimed that women were enticing men by dancing seductively to the viral song, John Vuli Gate. The dance challenge, which has spread to an international audience, calls for dancers to shake their derrière in a fun manner, which many have likened to twerking. According to Unathi, the Pastor was way out of line when he condemned women who partook in the dance challenge, as there was completely nothing wrong with it.
She stated, “A video that was trending last week of Umfundisi who was basically scolding us, women who actually love John Vuli Gate. It doesn’t matter if we agree or not, we are supposed to disagree and we are allowed to disagree. But for Umfundisi to say because of us love the song John Vuli Gate and was dance to it with the bums that God gave us by the way, he then said in her sermon to his entire congregation who’s going to go home and say this to their family and friends… he said the way you dance to that song… don’t be shocked if you are victims of GB violence.”
Unathi then questioned the pastor as a woman who is a fan of the song and who has danced to it with her God daughter, and asked if she should succumb to the fact that she had put herself in the line of rape. The musician also made mention of the countless instances where children and women are raped through no fault of their own, and wondered why he was pinning it on the victim rather than on the perpetrator.
Needless to say, Unathi was fuming when it came to the Pastor’s sentiments which appeared to strike a nerve as a South African woman, and as someone who has dealt with inappropriate behaviour from men.
In June 2020, Unathi shared a personal experience where she was harassed by a man who had been trying to pursue her for many months. After repeatedly denying him, he called her whilst she was in the middle of her show on Kaya FM, and flashed his genitals. The incident caused her to spark the hashtag #ThatsRapey which called for women to expose men who have been inappropriately suggestive.
