What does Human Rights Day mean to you?
On Human Rights Day, we as South Africans are asked to reflect on our rights and how to protect ourselves against violations. What does Human Rights Day mean to you?
As a nation, South African has a global reputation for championing human rights.
For starters, ours is a country which managed a transition to a full-fledged democracy without a civil war.
Secondly, while the rest of the world marks World Human Rights Day on the 10th of December every year, we in South Africa observe the importance of human rights on March the 21st - at least nine months ahead of the rest of the world.
There’s a reason for this: March the 21st 1960 was a dark day in South Africa’s history. 69 people died and 180 were wounded when apartheid-state police opened fire on a crowd that was protesting unjust Pass Laws in Sharpeville, Soweto. This is why this day was referred for a very long time as “Sharpeville Day” until then President Nelson Mandela instituted “Human Rights Day” as one of South Africa’s public holidays in the new democratic dispensation.
On Human Rights Day, we as South Africans are asked to reflect on our rights and how to protect ourselves against violations.
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