’Marafaele Mohloboli
THE rampant killings of women and children in the country is a cause of major concern needing divine intervention to halt, a top police officer has said.
Qoaling police station commander, Senior Inspector ’Matšepang Rankone, told a prayer meeting organised by the police at the weekend that the high levels of femicides in the country were no longer tolerable and everything possible had to be done to stop the scourge.
The meeting at Qoaling Highlanders Football Club ground was attended by hundreds of residents, area chiefs, and learners from schools in the area.
The Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) was also at hand to raise awareness on GBV and to encourage the public to refrain from violence.
Snr Insp Rankone said the high rate of gender-based violence (GBV) and murder in the country had prompted the police to convene the prayer meeting.
“We are recording many cases of GBV in the country and this is why we have decided to call out to God as nothing is impossible with Him,” Snr Insp Rankone said.
Snr Insp Rankone said the rate at which women were dying at the hands of their partners was alarming and this was negatively affecting children.
“Femicide has become a major problem in Lesotho and it is only if we join hands that we can win this battle,” she said.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, an estimated one in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetimes.
For his part, Qoaling chief, ’Mataelo Matsoso, said men had abandoned their responsibility of being protectors and had now become their families’ persecutors.
Ms Matsoso said some men were intimidated by the success of their spouses and were resorting to violence to suppress them.
“Men have forgotten that they are supposed to be protectors and providers. They are supposed to love their wives, while their wives are supposed to respect and be submissive to them. Unfortunately, things have now shifted.
“Each one of us should go back to their positions and things will work out better for all us.
“We need to hold hands and eradicate crime in this area. Villagers are now living in fear because of the high rates of violent crimes that we see every day,” she said.
