South African women married to
Nigerians in protest
Johannesburg – Some South African
women married to Nigerians staged a peaceful protest on Friday on the streets
of Johannesburg. The women, under the aegis of the United Nigerian Wives in
South Africa, said they were protesting against alleged intimidation and
discrimination by the officials of the Home Affairs department..
One of the organisers, Mrs Lindehwa
Uche said that the body is made up of South African women married toNigerian
citizen, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Union of South Africa (NUSA).
“South African women married to
Nigerian citizens have come to realise that our marriages are nothing but
fraudand corruption in the eyes of Home Affairs and Immigration officials,''
Uche said.
She said the protest was to demand
for their rights as South Africa citizens over freedom of choice of marriage
and association.
“We need to be treated with respect
and dignity irrespective of our choice of marriage partners as the South
African constitution provides for inherent dignity and right to ensure their
dignity is protected.
“We want to put an end to the
current situation where those of us married to Nigerians are being called names
such as 'prostitutes', and insulted in the presence of our children, when we
visit the immigration offices, to renew documents for our husbands,'' Uche
said.
She said that the South Africa
constitution states that; the state should not unfairly discriminate directly
or indirectly against anyone on one or more of the following grounds, including
race, gender, sex, marital status, ethnic,
disability, religion, conscience,
belief, culture, language, place or circumstance of birth.
“We will like to know if this
constitution is only protecting South African ladies who are married to white
foreigners.
“This is because when they enter the
Home Affairs office office the officers accord them the respect they deserve
and show them care and concern in
resolving their problems. hey do not discriminate against them because of
their skin colour,'' Uche said.
She said the contrary is the case
when it involves Nigerians as their rights are constantly violated.
“We have silently endured this ill
-treatment. marriage partners should be respected and treated with
dignity no matter where the come
from,'' Uche said.
She said most Nigerians were given
Temporary Residence Permit (TRP) after their marriages with the promise
that the permanent permit will be
issue in three months.
“Those three months turn into years,
and they keep telling us that the application is still pending
“However the painful thing is that
when our spouses having duly notified the Home Affairs department that they
are travelling and are given
assurance that they can travel with the TRP sticker they have, on return they
are
denied entry into South Africa.
“In some instances, South African
Airways officials claim that they have been instructed not to board passengers
with TRP stickers,'' Uche said.
She said this is affecting the
growth of their children and their concentration in school.
“The children are mostly affected,
because they cannot concentrate in school due to the stress of not knowing
when their fathers will come back,''
Uche said.
She said the body will like to meet
the Minister of Home Affairs within 21 working days to present the grievances
of
the victims with view to resolving
the matter to allow for the unification of the affected families which had been
separated as a result this
challenges.
In his response, Mr Khehla Miya,
Mayor of Johannesburg Home Affairs Department, who collected the protest letter
on behalf of the minister, said the
women were exercising their constitutional and democratic rights as south
African citizens.
“I want to thank you for the
peaceful protest; I must say you are exercising your right under a free South
Africa.
“I want to assure you that your
letter will be delivered to the minister and that in no distant time, the
minister will
address your complaints,'' Miya
said.
The President of NUSA, Mr Ikechukwu
Anyene, commended the initiative of the women in seeking their rights under
the law.
“I must commend the women for this
initiative of peaceful protest to demand for their rights under the law.
“They have given the minister 21
working days to call them for a meeting, we are trusting the minister to organise
a meeting within the period and
invite our wives, and then NUSA will take it up from there.
“We have other options open to us
but we want to see the response of the minister to their demand first. Our
belief
is that the minister will handle the
matter appropriately,'' Anyene further stated. (NAN)
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