POLITICALLY AWEH: The danger of being a woman in South African media and politics
They are mocked, they are dismissed with jokes, they are humiliated online with deepfakes – they even have their very lives threatened. And still, as the poet Maya Angelou said, they rise. In this episode, Politically Aweh honours the fearless women of South African political life.
In South Africa, women who participate in politics face severe verbal, online, and even physical threats. Despite the intimidation, they continue to speak out. Ferial Haffejee, an Associate Editor at Daily Maverick, one of the first women in media to experience this firsthand, explains that the digital world has merged with reality.
Zoë Barnes, co-host of the satirical political podcast Politically Aweh, adds that digital harassment can escalate into real-world violence. Caryn Dolley, an investigative reporter at Daily Maverick, has received death threats, prompting her to open a police investigation. Tara Roos, a political analyst, faced such severe threats that she had to involve the police.
Emma Sadleir, a digital law expert, notes that while police could potentially intervene by targeting the platforms, South African police lack basic resources like email access. Human rights lawyer Nicole Fritz calls for better accountability from these platforms, emphasizing that democracy requires people willing to stand in the light.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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