Corrective rape is a term used to describe rapes perpetrated on black lesbian women in the belief that by doing so they will be made heterosexual.

Getting to know Activist Ndumie Funda

‘I am prepared to die,’ states Ndumie Funda – activist and founder of the non-profit organization Luleki Sizwe which assists women in the townships of the Western Cape who have been victims of corrective rape, or marginalised by society as a result of their sexuality.

Her words are a chilling reminder of Nelson Mandela’s own words as he stood in the dock in 1963 at the Rivonia Trial, and stated unequivocally, ‘if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’ Where he talked about his determination to see an end to white domination and black domination, Ndumie Funda is willing to walk to the ends of the earth to see an end to corrective rape.

The Beginning of Non-Profit Organisation Luleki Sizwe

Luleki Sizwe is an organization Ndumie started in 2008. The name, which means ‘disciplining the nation constructively’, is taken from the names of two women Ndumie was extraordinarily close to, and who were, themselves, victims of corrective rape.  Luleka Makiwane – an openly proud lesbian and activist - was raped by her own cousin, who did it to ‘prove that she was a woman, not a man’. Unfortunately, Luleka contracted the HI virus and died in 2005.  

Nosizwe Nomsa Bizana was Ndumie Funda’s fiancée, whose rape and subsequent death propelled this larger-than-life woman to do something about what she considers ‘pathetic, devastating, painful and disgusting’.

Nosizwe is Raped

Nosizwe was a physically beautiful woman whose looks were the envy of many women and made her the object of affection for many men. They would attempt to court her, but she often told them she was committed, never making mention that she was in a lesbian relationship. Unfortunately, someone she considered her best friend told a group of men of her sexuality and plotted with them to rape her.

At a party one night, Nosizwe had gone to the bathroom to use the toilet. When she emerged she found five men waiting outside in a queue as if they wanted to use the bathroom, too. Apologetic, believing she had made them wait too long, she tried to walk past them, when they cornered her, beat her and start raping her. 

They held her down at gun point, beat her furiously and raped her without using condoms. They, too, wanted to change her sexuality by forcing themselves on her.

The Fear of Corrective Rape

‘I acted dead, Ndumie, because I was so scared,’ are the words Ndumie remembers her fiancée uttering after the incident. In her fear, as she lay there shivering, in pain, alone, one of the rapists was afraid she would identify them, and advised the other men that they should kill her, but another coldly stated, ‘she’s dead already.’

They took her and dumped her in a field, and for 30 minutes she lay in the mess of her bodily fluid and blood, tortured by fear. After a while she managed to flag down a police van that was patrolling the area. Too afraid to tell the police what had happened, she begged them to take her home while they mistakenly assumed she had had a fight with her boyfriend.

Living in Silence After Being Raped

Back in Cape Town, with Ndumie unaware of what had happened, the two women attempted their relationship; but Nosizwe was always afraid to get sexually intimate. It took a lot of wrestling, both physical and emotional, before the young girl opened up to Ndumie and told her what had happened. Ndumie was heartbroken and encouraged her fiancée to seek medical help. At this point, Nosizwe had developed numerous vaginal infections and had to go in for various operations and tests.

It hurts Ndumie Funda to think about it, but she remembers one night, as they lay in bed, Nosizwe’s voice echoing through the darkness as she said, ‘move on with your life and forget about me.’ In hospital, Nosizwe had learned she had contracted the HI Virus, but Ndumie would not leave her, nor would she forget about her.

The rape was an emotionally traumatic journey for them, especially since Nosizwe refused to speak about it to anyone. Every day that Nosizwe thought about it kept her in silence; she suffered, reliving the sexual abuse of five men and the ignorance of a society that looks on lesbian and gay people as part of an inferior subculture, devoid of morality.

Nosizwe Bizana Dies

Tragically, in 2007, Nosizwe was admitted to hospital where she was diagnosed with Cripto Meningitis. While she lay in hospital, moving in and out of consciousness, unable to look after herself, Ndumie lovingly washed her, stayed at her side and even took care of her hygienic needs. On 16 December 2007, Nosizwe died, but with it a new spirit arose in Ndumie Funda to ensure that South Africans sit up and understand what 150 women go through everyday.

Sadly, Nosizwe and Luleka are not the only victims of the horrendous crime of corrective rape. In the last ten years 31 lesbian women have been raped and murdered because of their sexual orientation.

The Horrific Account of Eudy Simelane’s Death

However, these figures are just those that have been recorded. Who can forget the horrid story of Eudy Simelane, a well known footballer for the women’s national soccer team, Banyana Banyana, who was gang raped, beaten and stabbed 25 times in her chest, legs and arms.

In an article written for The Guardian (link: ) Anne Kelly writes how Simelane’s mother was so traumatised by what had happened to her daughter that she said, ‘she was a sweet lady, she never fought with anyone, but why would they kill her like this? She was stabbed, 25 holes in her. The whole body, even under the feet.’

The List Goes On in Memory of Rape Victims

Simlane’s story is similar to that of Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Massooa, whose torture, gang rape, and shooting in 2007 sparked a national outcry, but whose voice is still not loud enough to get people to listen. This is why Ndumie Funda has taken it upon herself to do something. Operating from her small cabin in the townships of Cape Town after having been evicted from her home, this beautiful woman with a heart of gold does all she can to ensure that women who have been victims are not left to cope alone.

The Human Sciences Research Council published an article written by Vasu Reddy, Cheryl-Ann Potgieter and Nonhlanhla Mkhize, about the effects of corrective rape.

Isolation is only part of what the ‘corrective rape’ victim suffers. Anecdotal evidence indicates that this crime frequently involves a gang of men attacking a single woman, often with knives or other weapons. Afterwards, the woman needs hospitalisation, if she survives the ordeal – many do not. Those who do survive may find that the rape has left them pregnant or infected with HIV or another sexually transmitted disease.

These women carry the scars of their emotional and psychological violation long after their physical scars have healed. As one rape survivor said at a seminar co-hosted by the HSRC in December 2006: ‘Rape causes anger. It destroys and wrecks lives. It causes divisions and it damages an innocent soul… Is this the freedom that we were fighting for as South Africans?’

Life as an Activist is Not Easy

Ndumie Funda takes all the women who ask for her help – no one is turned away – and gives them a home in her small cabin which can sometimes house up to 8 people, often forcing Ndumie to sleep in her car.

She gave up her job in the corporate world to do what she does tirelessly everyday, whether it be going to the police station, feeding women, making appearances at courts, establishing a soccer team, offering a lesbian-moms support group or raped-women support group and offering counselling.

Her days are full and her work is not easy or simple, nor is it safe. Ndumie knows she faces danger every day that she walks the townships but she is adamant that even if it means she walks alone, she will raise awareness until her last breath.

‘I am doing this for my legacy, for my family. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual community is my family.’

Join R10 Campaign to Raise Money

Nonetheless, without funding and a steady income, things do get incredibly challenging for Ndumie. She has just registered Luleki Sizwe as a non-profit organisation, but she welcomes any donations. One of her supporters has started the R10 campaign on his blog, to raise R30 000 for Ndumie to buy an RDP house for her and her partner, while maintaining the cabin purely for the organisation’s purposes.

In Cape Town alone, approximately 10 lesbian women are raped or gang raped. In a document published on the Rape South Africa website it is said that rape statistics in the country have not reduced, instead having increased. In 2006 there were an estimated 55 000 cases of rape reported. But, there are also approximately 450 000 rape cases that go unreported.

Seeking the Reason for Rape

Rape is a violation of power and trust. It is an abomination, and the victim usually has to learn to release demons that threaten her everyday. There is a huge backlog of cases on the courts’ rolls, and too often victims find themselves having to face unsympathetic officers of the law.

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation reported that rape is so prevalent in South Africa due to a number of reasons, but to a large extent, corrective rape can be explained by sociologically, when examining male and female roles in South Africa.

South Africa is traditionally a male dominated and patriarchal society. Women hold limited power and authority and are frequently exploited. Research suggests that rape is more prevalent in such societies.

Millicent Gaika’s Case Goes to Trial

But in order to see changes in the way our society treats women, and gay women at that, we are going to have to create a culture where constructive debates can exist, and we are going to have to get harsh with rape offenders as is the case of Millicent Gaika, who was raped and beaten by Andile Ngcoka.

As Andile Ngcoka raped her, he shouted repeatedly at her, ‘you act like a man!’ and he threatened to impregnate her and ‘make [her] a son’. Despite being arrested, Andile Ngcoka was given R500 bail and did not appear in court the first time, so that a warrant for arrest had to be issued.

On 5 November 2010, Millicent Gaika will be taking the stand and I ‘ask everyone to please give support.’ So wherever you are in South Africa, or the world, light a candle, pledge a donation, give your time, give food or clothes to women who really need your support and to know they are not alone.

Since we all came from a women, got our name from a women, and our game from a women. I wonder why we take from women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time we killed for our women, be real to our women, try to heal our women, cus if we don’t we'll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, who make the babies. And since a man can't make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one.

– Tupac Shakur

A scourge like corrective rape, when it is believed that men can rape women straight, cannot be allowed to continue. For change to happen, it takes people to rise up and add their voices to the cause. Let rapists know that their actions will have consequences.

Wathint’umfazi, wathint’imbokodo

When you strike a woman, you strike a rock