InsightAfrica
As Covid-19 becomes pandemic, again black women suffer the most as they need to go to collect water from river to protect her family in Eastern Cape, Sharon Ekambaram from Lawyers for Human Rights said at Universal Right Association’s (URA) panel program.
“It scares me above the coronavirus how especially women and children live in extreme poverty in informal settlements” South African Human Rights Commissioner (SAHRC) for Angie Makwetla also shared her disappointment at URA’s panel titled “Women as Defender of Human Rights and as Victim of Human Rights Abuse”.
URA operates to remove, repair and resolve injustice, inequity, ill-treatment and oppression. We organize activities in local and global scale to establish and maintain peace and universal unity.” URA’s co-founder Atilla Dag explained the goal of the panel organized on the occasion of International Women Rights Day.
Commissioner Makwetla who is responsible for the rights of Children and Migrants in the (SAHRC) said that the society intentionally pushing women back. “Being a woman right activist is in extremely difficult in south Africa, there are only two women among eight commissioners, although we have women majority.” Makwetla answered the question whether she feels any kind of disadvantages as a being human rights commissioner? The Commissioner calls the parents that girls and boys must be given same education opportunities.
Migrants are in difficult situation
Commissioner Makwetla mentioned that African migrant women are in very difficult situation. “All women must know their rights when they go to police station, during the recent chaos women migrants suffered a lot” She said.
The commissioner also said that the history has not written still how black women fought against the apartheid regime. “Many female heroes is still unknown. When Winnie Madikizela Mandela dies, South Africans only understand the role she played during the funeral ceremony. She made a big role. Women have to keep affirming each other” She expressed her feeling.
Commissioner Makwetla said that government departments need more collaboration as Basic Education orders that all kids must get education but Home Affairs forcing school principle not to register undocumented kids.
Human Rights Activist Sharon Ekambaram told that “every child have right to access to education, refugee women must know their rights, who commit crime against refugees and asylum seekers must be arrested”.
Fatima Cheikh of the African Academy for Human Development shared some of the difficulties experienced by the Academy’s Ubuntu Club like some asylum seekers being afraid to commence with their documentation process out of fear that they will be arrested for their illegal residence in South Africa. She also spoke about young children being unable to register and attend schools because of being undocumented.
