Opinion / Letters
Tendai Mbofana: Rape is a scourge that needs urgent redress at parliamentary level
06 Oct 2025 at 16:51hrs |
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Dear Tendai,
Let's agree: rape has reached alarming proportions in Zimbabwe. It is countrywide, indiscriminate, and increasingly grotesque. Elderly women - some as old as 96 - are being raped by teenage boys. One nonagenarian remains hospitalised after being assaulted by a 26-year-old. This is not an isolated case. Social media is flooded daily with reports of rape across all age groups. The actual numbers are far higher than reported. Shame, fear, and economic dependence silence victims - especially when the perpetrator is the household breadwinner.
Rape has been normalised. It gives me goosebumps to hear you dismiss castration as ineffective. Rape of babies, children, and elderly citizens is a heinous crime that demands maximum punishment. Parliamentarians are debating how to reduce sexual violence. Your article, Tendai, sounded like a trivialization of rape - questioning castration as a deterrent. How do you think potential rapists feel when activists like us cast doubt on effective punishment?
In China, paedophiles are eliminated from society. According to Xinhua, three men were sentenced to death in one day for targeting underage girls. China consistently applies the death penalty to child sex offenders - demonstrating zero tolerance. The goal is not just deterrence, but permanent removal of predators.
In my view, it's not about whether capital punishment reduces rape - it's about removing the threat. Each predator removed is one less victim. Rape should be an exception to the rule - deserving death. The brutality of these crimes warrants it.
China's Criminal Law Article 236 states:
"Rape of women by violence, coercion, or other means is punishable by three to ten years. However, illicit sexual relations with a girl under 14 is considered rape and punishable by death."
Bangladesh approved the death penalty after a surge in gang rapes. In 2019 alone, over 1,000 cases were reported within nine months. Viral videos of gang rapes sparked nationwide protests demanding harsher sentences. The public unanimously supported capital punishment.
India gives the death sentence for raping girls under 12. Repeat offenders are executed. Pakistan punishes rape with death or life imprisonment. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan proposed chemical castration or public execution. Saudi Arabia, under Sharia law, punishes rape with flogging and public execution. Iran equates rape with treason - both punishable by death. In the UAE, coerced sex with a girl under 14 is punishable by death.
Dear Tendai, these countries are not wrong. Their penalties reflect the gravity of the crime. Our parliamentarians aren't even proposing death - they're debating castration. A law to remove "joysticks" from rapists is about community safety.
It's not just girls who suffer. Boys are also victims. Cattle herders are vulnerable to predators in remote areas. Anal penetration leaves deep, untreated scars. The culture of silence around sex makes it harder to report abuse - especially among children.
Parliamentarians demanding harsher penalties are not politicking. Rape is a scourge. What drives an 18-year-old to rape a 96-year-old woman? These boys rape with impunity. They know which elderly women live alone. They attack, knowing no one will hear the cries.
Can you imagine the agony of a young man living without manhood as punishment? You seem to say, "That's too harsh." But what is a man without one? Forgive my cynicism.
How many orphaned girls live alone in remote villages - parents lost to HIV/AIDS? Predators know this. They strike first. Some HIV-positive men are told by sangomas to sleep with virgins to cure themselves. They believe the disease must be transmitted to babies and toddlers. That belief alone is sickening. Such men deserve death.
But in your wisdom, Tendai, you say castration violates human rights. As activists, we differ. I cannot reconcile with your stance. The rape cases we see online are just a fraction of the real numbers. Parliament must chart a punishment that reflects the horror of these crimes.
Our lawmakers would benefit from public input on castration. This discussion matters. It will shape the debate.
Yours in the struggle,
Nomazulu
Let's agree: rape has reached alarming proportions in Zimbabwe. It is countrywide, indiscriminate, and increasingly grotesque. Elderly women - some as old as 96 - are being raped by teenage boys. One nonagenarian remains hospitalised after being assaulted by a 26-year-old. This is not an isolated case. Social media is flooded daily with reports of rape across all age groups. The actual numbers are far higher than reported. Shame, fear, and economic dependence silence victims - especially when the perpetrator is the household breadwinner.
Rape has been normalised. It gives me goosebumps to hear you dismiss castration as ineffective. Rape of babies, children, and elderly citizens is a heinous crime that demands maximum punishment. Parliamentarians are debating how to reduce sexual violence. Your article, Tendai, sounded like a trivialization of rape - questioning castration as a deterrent. How do you think potential rapists feel when activists like us cast doubt on effective punishment?
In China, paedophiles are eliminated from society. According to Xinhua, three men were sentenced to death in one day for targeting underage girls. China consistently applies the death penalty to child sex offenders - demonstrating zero tolerance. The goal is not just deterrence, but permanent removal of predators.
In my view, it's not about whether capital punishment reduces rape - it's about removing the threat. Each predator removed is one less victim. Rape should be an exception to the rule - deserving death. The brutality of these crimes warrants it.
China's Criminal Law Article 236 states:
"Rape of women by violence, coercion, or other means is punishable by three to ten years. However, illicit sexual relations with a girl under 14 is considered rape and punishable by death."
Bangladesh approved the death penalty after a surge in gang rapes. In 2019 alone, over 1,000 cases were reported within nine months. Viral videos of gang rapes sparked nationwide protests demanding harsher sentences. The public unanimously supported capital punishment.
India gives the death sentence for raping girls under 12. Repeat offenders are executed. Pakistan punishes rape with death or life imprisonment. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan proposed chemical castration or public execution. Saudi Arabia, under Sharia law, punishes rape with flogging and public execution. Iran equates rape with treason - both punishable by death. In the UAE, coerced sex with a girl under 14 is punishable by death.
Dear Tendai, these countries are not wrong. Their penalties reflect the gravity of the crime. Our parliamentarians aren't even proposing death - they're debating castration. A law to remove "joysticks" from rapists is about community safety.
It's not just girls who suffer. Boys are also victims. Cattle herders are vulnerable to predators in remote areas. Anal penetration leaves deep, untreated scars. The culture of silence around sex makes it harder to report abuse - especially among children.
Parliamentarians demanding harsher penalties are not politicking. Rape is a scourge. What drives an 18-year-old to rape a 96-year-old woman? These boys rape with impunity. They know which elderly women live alone. They attack, knowing no one will hear the cries.
Can you imagine the agony of a young man living without manhood as punishment? You seem to say, "That's too harsh." But what is a man without one? Forgive my cynicism.
How many orphaned girls live alone in remote villages - parents lost to HIV/AIDS? Predators know this. They strike first. Some HIV-positive men are told by sangomas to sleep with virgins to cure themselves. They believe the disease must be transmitted to babies and toddlers. That belief alone is sickening. Such men deserve death.
But in your wisdom, Tendai, you say castration violates human rights. As activists, we differ. I cannot reconcile with your stance. The rape cases we see online are just a fraction of the real numbers. Parliament must chart a punishment that reflects the horror of these crimes.
Our lawmakers would benefit from public input on castration. This discussion matters. It will shape the debate.
Yours in the struggle,
Nomazulu
Source - Byo24News
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