Al-Sahlani speaks out: “Women inherit the rules”(Video)

Abir Al-Sahlani, a Swedish Member of the European Parliament, has spoken out on Instagram about South Africa’s ongoing gender-based violence crisis.

She directly addressed the discovery of nine women’s bodies found across one area of the country over just two months.

Al-Sahlani’s message was blunt:

“Men rape, men kill, and somehow the instructions are ending up with the women.”

She argued that women are the ones told to cover up, avoid walking alone, and carry pepper spray.

Men, meanwhile, are rarely held accountable for the violence itself.

WHO ABIR AL-SAHLANI IS

Al-Sahlani is a Swedish Member of the European Parliament, representing the Centre Party.

She has served in the European Parliament since 2019. Born in Basra, Iraq, she moved to Sweden alone at the age of 15, before building a political career there.

She currently sits on several key committees.

These include the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equalityand the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

Notably, she also sits on the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with South Africa, giving her a direct institutional connection to South African affairs specifically.

WHAT SHE ACTUALLY SAID

In her video, Al-Sahlani asked directly:

“South Africa, how many more women have to die before violence against women is treated like the emergency it is?”

She then summed up her core argument in one sharp line: “Men commit the violence, women inherit the rules.”

She went further still, calling out the broader pattern of how society responds to gender-based violence.

“If you are tired like me of this, share this video and follow me,” she said, “because I will keep talking about the things women are told to simply live with.”

She continued: “like carrying the blame for the violence committed by men.”

Her closing message was direct: “Put the blame where it belongs.”

WHY HER WORDS ARE LANDING NOW

Al-Sahlani’s statement comes as South Africa continues grappling with the deaths of nine women, discovered across the Ekurhuleni municipality over the past two months.

The case has drawn international attention, including a statement of concern from the United Nations.

Her comments echo a frustration many South African women have voiced directly throughout this case.

Safety advice, they argue, consistently targets women’s behaviour, rather than addressing the men responsible for the violence itself.

It’s a genuinely striking thing to see an international political figure speak this directly and this personally. 

Al-Sahlani has an actual institutional link to South Africa, yet is addressing a crisis unfolding thousands of kilometres from her own parliament.

Her message lands as a pointed challenge.

It’s directed not just at South Africa, but at how societies everywhere tend to respond to violence against women.

Do you agree that the burden of prevention is placed on women rather than the men responsible for violence?