Zoya Pon

While we can’t change the socio-economic and entrenched racist structures of our societies overnight, we can take control of our individual healthcare Thank you for supporting This article is for registered members and subscribers. Please register your FREE account now. Articles with a gold lock are subscriber exclusive content. For your free account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience, please register your free account now.

The case against Sifiso Mkhwanazi for the murder of a woman believed to be a sex worker has been postponed to February 2023 because of the delay in DNA testing. Mkhwanazi has only been charged with the murder of one woman although six bodies were found at his father’s workshop in Johannesburg in October. Police have not processed the DNA to identify the missing women.

Some headlines stay etched into my mind long after reading them. Lately, two have been swimming around in my subconscious and, although they seem unrelated, they are not mutually exclusive. The first is the story of a foul smell at a panel-beating factory leading to the discovery of six women’s bodies. The second is a report about increasing male suicide rates in South Africa. The second is an unfortunate fact. Male suicides are on the up in South Africa.