Event location: Nelson Mandela University
Event date and time: 04/04/2019 08:00:00
The Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy (CANRAD) actively opposes all forms of violence again women and gender-nonconforming persons.
Therefore, we hereby distance ourselves from BDS-SA’s press statement of 27 March 2019 with regards the complaints of indecent assault and sexual harassment lodged with the police against its director Mohammed Desai. This follows reports widely circulated in the media about events that allegedly occurred on the evening of 21 March 2019.
We call on BDS-SA to institute an independent investigation into the complaints, pending which Mr Desai should be suspended. This should happen within a reasonable timeframe.
As the host of an annual dialogue in support of the Palestinian cause since 2011, we believe in the indivisibility of struggles. That is, we believe that the struggle for women’s human rights are not inferior to the struggle for Palestinian freedom. BDS-SA must therefore ensure that due process is followed in this case, both for the sake of the war against gender-based violence and of the Palestinian cause in South Africa.