Human Rights
Philippi students speak out about police showdown
On 6 March there was a violent stand-off between students from Philippi High School and the police in the Cape Town CBD. GroundUp reported this. Here is a statement issued by the students on the events of that day.
Philippi High School Students
Opinion | 11 March 2015
“Now I have lunch in a clean canteen”
The contract workers who clean portable toilets all day at the Borcherd’s Quarry Depot now have a canteen and a place to change.
Zintle Swana
News | 10 March 2015
Sanitary pads: no sign that Zuma’s promise has been kept
Four years after President Jacob Zuma promised sanitary towels for poor women, there is no sign that his promise has been kept.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Brief | 10 March 2015
Polluters let off the hook
South Africans shouldn’t hold their breath as polluters are let off the hook. Decisions of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on Tuesday 24 February 2015 marked a disappointing setback in the battle for improved air quality in South Africa.
Nicole Löser
Opinion | 9 March 2015
Human Rights Commission to probe city toilets again
The SA Human Rights Commission is to re-examine its report on chemical toilets in the informal settlements, after finding procedural irregularities in the report.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 5 March 2015
False Bay domestic worker paid nothing for 14 years
A 61-year-old Zimbabwean domestic worker, Gladys Mafita, claims her False Bay employer fired her without payment after 14 years.The employer is Daniel Deng, son of Francis Deng, the first ambassador of South Sudan to the United States.
Tariro Washinyira
Feature | 4 March 2015
City does not care if it is wrong as long as no one else knows it
When the Madlingozi family in Mfuleni extended their shack without authorisation, the City of Cape Town removed the extensions, amidst a dispute over the facts. Jared Sacks argues that the City presented its position without checking the facts.
Jared Sacks
Opinion | 2 March 2015
Gay and lesbian activists call for “racist” Cape Town Pride to be more inclusive
For 25-year-old, Aphiwe Mikana from Gugulethu, raising awareness about what it means to be lesbian is more than brightly coloured floats or a day of dancing through city streets.
Barbara Maregele
News | 2 March 2015
West Papua’s “Cry for help, Cry for Freedom”
On 17 February Equal Education hosted a talk by Benny Wenda of the Free West Papua Campaign at the Wits School of Education. He is in South Africa to spread awareness about the West Papuan fight against Indonesian colonialism and gross human rights abuses of the West Papuan people. He said he was also here to "learn how [South African] leaders fought against apartheid, for justice and against [racial] discrimination."
Joshua Maserow
Opinion | 25 February 2015