Motshekga says 'educated men don't rape' remarks were taken out of context

• Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says her comments that "educated men don't rape" were taken out of context.
• Motshekga was filmed making the comments at a Pretoria school on Monday.
• She, however, said the comment was related to educating boys about gender-based violence.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has come under fire for reportedly saying an "educated man won't rape" during an address to Pretoria pupils on Monday morning.

However, Motshekga said her comments were taken out of context.

In a statement issued by the Department of Basic Education, Motshekga said her comments were related to gender-based violence.

"The comments were made in relation to gender-based violence. Rape is indeed about power, hence the department has programmes to educate the boy child to appreciate the importance of how to deal with power relations between men and women from a young age. Therefore, my remarks must not be taken out of the context of educating children to develop them to become better people," Motshekga said.

According to video footage shared by Newzroom Afrika, Motshekga told a group of pupils she held the belief that educated, "civilised" men did not rape, and that the more educated you were, the less you were likely to be involved in wrongdoing.

"This government has prioritised education because it knows that it's only through education that we can deal with some of our challenges… because an educated man won't rape."

When the children she was addressing disagreed with her, Motshekga responded: "Or do they? I thought they moved to be a bit civilised not to do such things, now I'm disappointed. But they don't do other things, do they?"

Motshekga was addressing pupils at a Pretoria school on Monday to mark the first school day of 2021.

She added that educating men about power relations was important in the fight against rape.

"Regarding the reaction of the learners, I was not going to debate because the purpose of my remarks was to encourage them to be educated on GBV, including educating them about women abuse."

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