We Are Tired, But We Will Not Be Silent: Honouring Olorato Mongale and Every Woman Failed by This Country

Olorato Mongale should be alive.  

But in South Africa, being a woman too often feels like a death sentence. Her murder is not an isolated tragedy, it’s yet another brutal reminder that gender-based violence is not a crisis looming in the distance. It is already here, deeply embedded in our homes, our communities and our systems. 

As Soul City Institute, we are exhausted. Exhausted by the unending cycle of grief, rage and pleas for justice that fall on deaf ears. Tired of releasing statement after statement condemning this violence. Tired of demanding action from a government that continues to fail women, girls and gender-diverse people. We are tired of being asked to wait, while our people die. 

And still, we do the work. 

Across this country, in schools and communities, we work with girls and young women to prepare them for a world that is not yet safe for them. But how do we keep preparing them for a society that refuses to change? A society that expects them to survive instead of committing to ensure they thrive? 

Women in South Africa are not safe. We are not safe in our homes, not in our schools, not even in public. We tell our friends when we go for a jog just in case we don’t make it back. We avoid certain streets, certain taxis, certain times of day. We make up imaginary boyfriends to ward off unwanted male attention. We are constantly scanning, constantly alert and on edge. This is not life. It is survival. 

But we will not stop fighting.  

We cannot.  

But we will not pretend that this is easy, or that our determination comes without pain. Each life lost is a wound. Each name added to the long list of victims is a reminder of how much more we must do and how urgently the world must change. 

Rest in peace, Olorato. And rest in peace to all the other women and girls whose lives were stolen.  

We carry your names in our work.  

We will not forget.