The group's existence underscores the
deep-rooted tensions that erupted anew in
Johannesburg and Durban this month
when mobs of South African men hunted
down immigrants, attacking them and
destroying their homes and businesses.
At least seven people have been killed in the
unrest, and thousands of immigrants --
mainly from Zimbabwe, Nigeria,
Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa --
were forced to flee their homes and seek
safety in makeshift camps.
"We saw this thing coming and that's why
we formed this association," UNWISA
chairwoman Lindwela Uche, 42, told AFP.
"If only they (the authorities) had listened to
us... they would have known that there's a
fire burning slowly and they would have
seen how to tackle it."
The group has 100 members on its
Facebook forum and also organises picnics,
family soccer tournaments and
demonstrations against the stigma they
endure.
"Being married to a foreigner is very
challenging," Lufuno Orji, a Johannesburg
resources consultant whose husband is a
Nigerian medical doctor, told AFP.
"You often spend your time defending
yourself and then you defend your foreign
husband for being himself."
Attitudes "are negative everywhere we go,"
said Thelma Okoro, 37, adding that even
wearing traditional Nigerian dress on the
street can attract barbed comments.
- Paying a high price -
Daily life for the wives, their husbands and
their children includes battling criticism from
neighbours, schools, government officials,
health workers, taxi drivers and even the
police.
Last year Uche's 13-year-old daughter
returned from school complaining that her
teacher had told her "not to bring that
Nigerian mentality here" after she and
classmates were noisy in class.
"We need to be protected, we need our
children to be protected... and our
husbands to be treated with dignity," said
Uche, who has been married to her
husband Cajethan Dennis for 17 years.
Okoro's eight-year-old daughter gets
mocked by schoolmates over her name
"Ngozi" which means "blessing" in Igbo but
literally translates to "danger" in Zulu.
For Orji, her decision to marry Ogbonnaya
has cost her dearly.
"Just before I got wed to my husband, I lost
two very best friends of mine. They
thought I was out of my mind," said Orji,
who adds that her own family though were
"ecstatic" at her choice of husband.
Some of UNWISA members have kept their
maiden names because their husbands'
name attract galling remarks.
Okoro, who has been married to Kenneth
for 13 years, says she was told off by an
official when she tried to apply for free
government-issued houses in 2011.
"They told me that I was not entitled
because I am married to a foreigner, and
that if I wanted a house I must divorce the
man first," she said.
She also cited taking her sick children to
hospital, where "the nurses ask 'why are
you giving these people residence papers' --
degrading and discrediting our choices".
The wives' club is now looking to widen its
reach to South African women married to
other foreign nationals after the recent anti-
immigrant attacks highlighted many other
women going through similar experiences.
One victim, Nokuthula Mabaso, last week
told local media she was threatened with
rape for dating her Zimbabwean boyfriend
Elias Chauke.
"A group of Zulu-speaking men arrived and
kicked down the door," she said.
"They asked me why I dated a foreigner
when there were many South African men
in the squatter camp and I replied that I love
Elias. They then assaulted and robbed me.
"One of them threatened To Molest us and
was stopped by others."
The South African government has vowed
to tackle xenophobic attacks, while human
rights lawyers say women who are unfairly
discriminated against should consider legal
action.
"Marriage does not infringe your citizenship
as a South African," said Trish Erasmus, of
the Pretoria-based Lawyers for Human
Rights.
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