5 minute read
Thuli Madonsela- Creating equality through social justice
Thuli Madonsela
- Creating equality through social justice
As one of the most unequal societies in the world, South Africans grapple with the enormous differences between the haves and have-nots. At the heart of addressing this inequality, is the concept of social justice. The country’s foremost champion for social justice is Professor advocate Thuli Madonsela, law Trust Research Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University.
Fighting for change
Prof. Madonsela conducts and coordinates social justice research and teaches constitutional and administrative law. She is also the founder of the Thuma Foundation, an independent democracy leadership and literacy social enterprise.
An advocate of the High Court of South Africa, Prof. Madonsela has been a lifelong activist on social justice, constitutionalism, human rights, good governance and the rule of law. She is one of the drafters of the Constitution and co-architect of several laws, such as the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, the Employment Equity Act and the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act.
In 2014, she was named one of TIME100’s most influential people in the world. In 2016, she was named Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2016. Prof. Madonsela has been awarded several Lifetime Achievement Awards and has five honorary doctor of law degrees.
Prof. Madonsela previously held a seven-year term as South Africa’s Public Protector and has served as a full-time Commissioner at the South African Law Reform Commission. She was one of the founding members of the South African Women’s Lawyers Association. In her role at Stellenbosch University, Prof. Madonsela has become one of the most eminent advocates for social justice.
The formal definition of social justice explains it to be, “the equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms regardless of human diversity reflected in the fair and just distribution of all opportunities, resources, benefits, privileges and burdens in a society or group and between societies.”
Implementing this is simple, says Prof. Madonsela. It means finding a way to make a difference, finding a way to help those in need.
“We need to make the lofty ideals of our wonderful Constitution part of the lived reality of all people. We urgently need to bridge the divide between the haves and the havenots and that is where the idea of social justice comes to the fore. I believe that poverty and inequality operate exponentially and if they are not arrested significantly, they are bound to increase rather than decrease,” she says.
Including All South Africans in Social Justice Reforms
One of the ways to address this divide is through increased access to education, says Prof. Madonsela
“What is telling is the youth unemployment rate, which currently sits at 59% but for graduates in the same group is at 33%. Education is a key driver to South Africa’s economic prosperity and the ability of the country’s citizens to create and partake in a mobilised economy,” says Prof.. Madonsela
“As a community, we need to be actively involved in supporting students and help in tackling the education funding crisis we find ourselves in. This is one of the steps we can make to ensure social justice is a lived reality for more people in our nation.”
Another way to increase equality is through social welfare. This includes the rollout of the Social Relief of Distress Grant, which Prof. Madonsela believes, at R350, is not a feasible amount in comparison to the cost of living. She says that a conversation about social development needs to be ignited so that the potential of people is realised, that those who wish to earn their own income can do, and those that want to be self-sufficient are enabled to do so, she says.
Prof. Madonsela has also stated that a focus needs to be placed on righting the wrongs of the past by giving back resources that were taken from communities during apartheid and colonialism.
“Part of the reason our GDP is not growing and collectively we’re not moving forward is that so many people are tied up in the shackles that were imposed on them by colonialism, apartheid, and patriarchy,” she says.
Prof. Madonsela believes social justice ideals can be taught and has suggested using platforms such as the Social Justice Explorer- a game aimed at systematising the implementation of a Social Justice Impact Assessment Matrix (SIAM). The SIAM allows the government to assess the impact of planned laws, policies and social schemes to predict whether they will reduce or exacerbate existing inequalities.
“I [recommend] that we explore serious gaming to enhance the appreciation of modern inequality, particularly among legislators and policymakers. This should provide the tools to predict the likelihood of innocuous laws, policies and social schemes exacerbating inequality when implemented, in the betrayal of social justice commitments in domestic constitutional and international treaties,” she says.
But ultimately, Prof. Madonsela believes the power to create social justice is in the hands of all of us.
“This journey towards the achievement of social justice … starts, I believe, in the way we live our lives each day. Find the ways – big or small – in which you can help your neighbour. Every contribution and every bit of effort will make a difference,” she says.
