Women are under attack. Every time you open a newspaper, you read a story about a woman has been mugged, stabbed, shot, raped or murdered. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be the newspaper where you hear these things: It could be from social media, WhatsApp or even your very own friends, family and colleagues.
In March, 20-year-old Shapauline Shaduka was killed at Ombili, Katutura because a man and his friends wanted her cap. Oniihaandhi village in Onyaanya was troubled by the case of two girls, aged five and 13, who were allegedly sodomised by their uncle while their guardian was at church – also in March. In April, a 16-year-old was lured with promises of watermelon by a man, leading to rape.
Cases like these often remind us that women are not safe and that many constantly live in fear, especially in the presence of the opposite sex. There is much pressure and knowledge you have to equip yourself with in order to be and feel safe.
Freda Lerato, who attends the Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate classes in Windhoek, said a mugging one day changed her life. “I got mugged at knife point a few years ago, in broad daylight, mind you. I didn’t fight him because I didn’t have the knowledge or skill set to do so. Once the guy took everything he wanted, a few bystanders came by and asked me why I let him take my belongings. That had me enraged because they could easily have stood up and helped me, however, they chose to watch instead.”
And it was unfortunate that the incident scarred her. “From that day on, I became so paranoid… Anyone walking behind me was dangerous in my mind until I decided to take my safety in my own hands. I joined karate to be able to defend myself and not rely on the bystander with his phone ready to record instead of help.”
One of the ways in which women can protect themselves includes self defense sports like martial arts and karate. There are a number of schools available around the country which teach women, even from a young age, how to get out of tricky situations.
“Karate has taught me so much and I learn new things every single day. I think it’s important for both women and men to know how to defend themselves. For women, we need that extra push because men are physically stronger than we are. We need to be able to know how to defend ourselves because there may not be anyone around to help you,” Lerato said.
And karate, she shared, is not just about self-defense. It’s a lifestyle. “It helps you have constant awareness. Please do some form of self-defense.”
For more information, visit Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Namibia’s page on Facebook or visit goju-ryu-karate-namibia.com. You can also call 061 241879 or email them at admin@goju-ryu-karate-namibia.com.
“There are golden rules of self-defense for different genders,” security expert Lucky Shipulwa from Surge Security Services said. “In a case of a woman, she has to know these rules:
• Awareness/avoidance, developing a ‘warrior mindset’, channelling fear and maintaining your personal comfort zone. Meaning always look where you are going. Wake up, don’t always be on your phone in public or go jogging with headsets.”
Shipulwa advises that is is important to be aware of strangers. “Try maintaining a personal comfort zone here in Namibia. A stranger can’t be less than about two metres away from you. Also, learn how to react to strange movements and sounds in terms of growing a quick response routine for such situations.”
Shipulwa advised the following if a stranger touches you or if there is no clear escape: “shout loudly (‘back off!’) and push back at him/her. This does two things: It signals for help and it lets the attacker know that you are not an easy target.” But prevention is the best safety measure.
“Carry a defense mechanism that you feel you can use to its effective potential, such as pepper spray. One of the effective measures is also going for short weapon handling courses.”
As a woman, Lerato said walking at night is quite difficult because you can’t see clearly. “You can’t see shadows approaching or see a person around a corner. I avoid being in any situation at night that may leave me worried about what’s going to happen around the corner. The best advice I can give you is never walk alone. Never, under any circumstance. Get a friend to walk you to a taxi, send that taxi number to multiple people, ask for a lift. When you are dropped off, ask them to wait for you to get into your yard.”
