Human Rights Month: What does it mean?
Human rights month is a celebration of the struggle to attain democracy in South Africa. This month is a celebration of our country’s freedom and rights and to honour those who fought for it.
North-West University (NWU) Student Representative Council (SRC) Chairperson Heinz Schoeman-Struwig said human rights are instilled in the NWU’s culture.
“SRC Reception and orientation is built on the three pillars of the NWU human rights which are freedom, dignity and humanity,” Schoeman-Struwig said.
“This is taken further through NWU’s ethic of care, which aims to make every student feel welcome and also to feel a sense of integration and cohesion which was not always there before. All this is built on the ethic of care which is the willingness to go out of your way and to put the human back in humanity,” he said.
Schoeman-Struwig said Covid-19 and the ban on mass gatherings has complicated the SRC’s plans to celebrate Human Rights Month. However, students should be educated about human rights and how to responsibly practice them.
According to the website of the South African Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna, Human Rights Month is celebrated from 1 to 31 March annually. This year’s event marks the 60th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, which took place on 21 March 1960. On this day the apartheid police shot and killed 69 people during a peaceful protest march.
The areas that will be focused on this month are constitutional rights awareness, children’s rights and the responsibilities that accompany rights, anti-racism, and gender-based violence and femicide.
Student Law Council of Potchefstroom (SLCP) current affairs officer Elré Van Niekerk said students ought to be taught that Human Rights are paramount. She said it is of the utmost importance for all citizens to know their rights to protect themselves. She said students should know that Human Rights are there to protect them and to provide them with the laws outlined that are built on dignity, freedom and equality.
Van Niekerk said to practice human rights responsibly, means one should be reasonable and fair, and always think about the person next to you.
“Sometimes we neglect to think of others and what our actions will do to them. We should also never back down when it comes to human rights as they are the cornerstones on which we build a safe environment and a harmonious society,” she said.
SLCP will also not host any event to celebrate Human Rights Month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Van Niekerk said.
Students agree that every person is entitled to the same rights and freedom.
Mosele Shale, a 25-year-old Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) student, said the idea of human rights are not privileges and cannot be granted or evoked, they are universal.
“Throughout centuries and across societies, cultures, religion and race, we have struggled to find a line when it comes to justice, rights and rightfulness and Human Rights allow those to happen,” Shale said.
Jeff Mbewe, a 21-year old psychology student, said, “human rights are norms that describe certain standards of human behaviour. These rights are protected under the Constitution and they are enshrined in our South African Bill of rights, whereby for example everyone has a right to citizenship and safety.”
“To me as an individual, human rights mean that everyone has a right to dignity and a right to life. Human rights are important because they guarantee citizens the means necessary to get basic needs and also they protect people against abuse by their superiors and those in power,” Mbewe said.