> As a woman living in South Africa, I write this with deep pain, fear and concern. Every day we wake up to another story of a woman brutalized, raped or killed, and we are tired of mourning. Femicide and gender-based violence have become a national emergency that steals our sisters, our mothers and our daughters, and leaves the rest of us living in fear in our own homes and communities. We respectfully call on the President to urgently address the nation and the world with a clear media statement and decisive action plan. We need to hear that our lives matter, that our pain is seen, and that the government will act with the urgency this crisis demands to protect women and bring perpetrators to justice.