Download PDFRegarding women’s rights in our country, laws are there that were meant to protect women, but it seems they are only there because they are supposed to be there.
In general, women are not protected in any way. Even the people who are supposed to protect women are the ones abusing them, because mainly, officials are men, and they do not care about women.
Even the people who are making rules and laws are men, and all they think about is themselves. For example, condoms are free, but women have to buy sanitary pads, which are a basic need. Condoms are free because men need them and will not suffer if they do not have them, but because it benefits them, it must be free.
Even at health facilities, men are the ones who hold upper positions, while women are the ones who do all the hard work on the ground and have to experience all the trauma that comes with it. This raises the question: are the rights of women neglected? The rights of women are neglected because most medicine is built on male bodies and male symptoms. In health care, many women receive wrong diagnoses and inadequate treatment because research is mostly based on the male body.
As we all know, menstruation is normal for all women, whether people like it or not. Women should be given sanitary pads, as they use them every month, while condoms could be sold since sex is a choice. There is also neglect of women during menopause, where symptoms differ from person to person, yet there is a lack of support from our health care services.
People who are staying in rural areas find it hard to access health care. There is poor nutrition, and living environments are not in good condition. Women are not protected in any way, and as we all know, women are abused each and every day in their lives.
This article is an opinion piece submitted on 16 April 2026. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Karibu! Online or Khanya College. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
