President Cyril Ramaphosa says the abuse, rape and killing of women was a stain on the country’s national conscience.
He said the country could not allow violence against women to define it.
Ramaphosa made the remarks in his latest newsletter following the discovery of more bodies of murdered women in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.
The president said the nation could not claim to be a society founded on freedom, equality and human dignity when half of the population lived in fear of violence.
Picking up from his Heritage Day message delivered in Oudtshoorn last week, President Ramaphosa said South Africa refused to be defined by xenophobia and intolerance.
He reminded the nation that African people had provided moral and material support to South Africa’s liberation struggle and transition to democracy.
“Democratic South Africa remains committed to advancing the ideals of African unity and integration,” he said.
However, he added that migration had to take place within the law, that the government had a responsibility to manage the borders effectively, and that everyone who lived in South Africa was required to respect its laws.
Turning to the high levels of violence in the country, Ramaphosa said in a country where women lived in fear of abuse and were killed every day, the public humiliation of women was not harmless.
He said it reinforced the attitudes that sustained discrimination and violence.
“At a time when undocumented migration is fuelling social tensions, inflammatory statements about foreign nationals are dangerous and irresponsible,” he said.
Ramaphosa said language that glorified killing or encouraged hostility had no place in South Africa’s public life.
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