Monument to Saartjie Baartman, 'The Hottentot Venus', defaced in South Africa

There has been a spate of attacks on monuments and statues in South Africa recently, following unrest in the country. They have been aimed at figures of white leaders from the colonial era, but now a monument to Saartji Baartman, known as 'The Hottentot Venus' has been splattered with white paint.

Saartji was a member of the African Khoisan community who was taken to Europe in 1810 and put on display. After five years of French and British audiences peering at her (to European eyes) large buttocks and genitalia, she died in poverty in France.

After death, further indignity was wreaked upon Saartji when her skeleton and genitalia were put on display in Paris, until 1974. After long negotiations, her remains were finally returned to her homeland in 2002.

SA police are investigating the vandalizing of the monument at her burial site.

The photo shows a plaster death mask, not Saartji's remains.

http://m.timeslive.co.za/local/?articleId=14616141

ETA: I deleted the photo after thinking about it. This lady's had quite enough of being on display. It's at the link if you want to view.

Well, this piqued my interest so I looked up "hottentot venus" on wiki. Then I followed the links about genitalia. It was eye-opening to say the least, and gave me a bit more understanding of some cultural practices.

I'm not sure why this monument would be defaced by white paint, but I found the whole thing fascinating and off the beaten track.