Four days before Valentine’s Day Reeva Steenkamp, South African girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, tweeted a message about violence against women in South Africa. Ironically, four days later she was allegedly shot to death in the hip, elbow and head. Oscar Pistorius is a famed South African double amputee. Along with gold medals and records set during the Paralympics, Pistorius is the first double amputee to compete with other able bodied athletes during the Olympics. Beyond being infamous for his incredible athelticism, the world has been brought on his attention again as he has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend.
Two weeks after Valentine’s Day, the question on everyone’s mind is: Why would an internationally celebrated athlete murder his girlfriend?
For starters, Pistorius did admit to shooting Steenkamp and has been charged with premeditated murder. Charges against Pistorius were immediately followed by a weeklong trial. The defense claimed that the Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a bathroom door because he believed she was an intruder. The prosecution, headed by Detective Botha, tried to poke holes in Pistorius’ alibi. Due to an unconvincing witness testament, the defense team was unable to make a valid case against Pistorius. To make matters worse, Detective Botha was removed from the case due to murder charges he is facing from an unrelated case.
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair released Pistorius on a 1 million rand ($133,000) bail on February 22, 2013. Reporters on the scene saw a solemn and composed Pistorius who seemed unaffected by the news of the bail. Pistorius is expected back in court in June 4, 2013.
The ramifications for Pistorius are pretty obvious – loss of high profile endorsements, fortune, and a tarnished image. Pistorius’ actions of killing a woman begs the question, why is violence against women in South Africa, and even the world, so endemic? It happens regardless of race or class. As years pass by, violence against women becomes more pervasive in South Africa’s cities. The statistics prove this but even those are underrated. Violence against women is highly underreported. In Cape Town alone, 60% of teenage girls said they have been beatened by their partner.
Time just realeased a cover story titled Man. Superman. Gunman. As noted from The Washington Post in the cover story, “Africa bureau chief Alex Perry writes about the country’s difficult history with race relations and the violence that seems to pervade the country’s culture.” All anticipation awaits for June 4th.