Sunday evenings are the only times that I get to watch television in the week, and I enjoy it along with half of South Africa who ‘sit beside me tweeting’ as we watch – well, at least it feels like we’re sitting beside each other.
One particular Sunday, however, there was uproar after the popular South African television show, Our Perfect Wedding, broadcasted an episode that showcased a couple that had met when the bride was 14 and the groom was 28, which Doctor, Tlaleng Mofokeng decided to speak out against not just through Twitter, but also through the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) reasoning that it justified a rape culture.
In an interview with News24 yesterday Dr. Mofokeng states that she has dealt with rape survivors and abused women all the time and was understandably ‘outraged’ when the groom claimed that he was “sleeping with three to four women a day and would target young girls during the ‘after school rush’. He would then take a schoolgirl home with him.”
Thankfully, the doctor has said that the BCCSA has responded saying that it will look into the matter and ABSA has since pulled it sponsorship from the programme. M-Net’s Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as well as Connect TV, the production company, have apologized for broadcasting the Sunday episode mentioning that the content was “clearly offensive and wrong”.
Mofokeng, was disappointed that the show’s executive producer, Basetsana Kumalo could allow such an episode to be aired – as Kumalo was someone that she saw as the Julia Roberts of South Africa and someone she looked up to when growing up, and hopes that Kumalo will speak out giving a statement about the episode.
I am personally so inspired by Dr. Mofokeng and her choice to speak out against what she saw on her screen. In an age where we are bombarded by opinions and such on social media, one can be easily intimidated by the response that they might get, so never speak out against an injustice if they aren’t sure that they are going to be backed by anyone else.
I’ve been reading the bible since I was young, but I don’t think I was ever fully aware of God’s heart for justice until the last few years, since then I have made it my duty to always speak out for the people who can’t speak out for themselves – or, in this case, speak out for the people who might not even have seen it as an injustice because they didn’t know any better. What that groom was doing, is a lot of the time, seen as a normal occurrence in a lot of the rural areas in South Africa and around the world (actually).
Amos 5:24 (ESV), “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Isaiah 1:17 (ESV), “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
If you’re reading this and have never had anyone speak out for you in your life, I want to let you know that Jesus is the official voice for those who are powerless. He came to correct the oppression that was put on us by sin. Oppression can look different in all of our lives – depression, poverty, indecisiveness, sickness – and the list goes on… Jesus came to give us a voice and set us free… There is no romantic side to what sin has done to many of our families and homes where havoc reigns. If you want to know more about this Jesus, why don’t you please press on the block below: