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From Gravel Roads to the Doors of Opportunity: A Triumph of Rights
By: Kholofelo Mphahlele In the rural stretches of the Limpopo Province, along gravel roads where opportunity often feels distant, 24 young learners from Burghersdorp Secondary School completed their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations at the end of 2025. These learners had worked tirelessly, often against the odds, dreaming of higher…
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When School Fees Close the Doors of Learning: A Grandmother’s Victory Against Socio-Economic Exclusion
By: Emihle Majikija The transition from primary to secondary school often brings new possibilities, hopes, and beginnings for a learner. In November of 2024, Zethu* received news that her granddaughter, Gugu*, had been provisionally accepted into the 2025 Grade 8 class at Hyde Park High School – a fee-paying public school in the leafy, affluent suburbs of Sandton, north of Johannesburg. Zethu let out a…
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When Healthcare Treatment is Obstructed, Rights Must Speak
By: Hloni Manare A routine minibus taxi ride from Hillbrow to Orange Grove, north of Johannesburg, quickly turned into a nightmare for Flora* a documented migrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2024, the 45-year-old mother of three found herself in excruciating pain…
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Where Borders End, Dignity Begins
By: Kholofelo Mphahlele and Gillian Pillay Sunday, 15 June 2025 started off as another normal day for the Moyo* family. It is also a day that will forever remain etched in their memory. The Moyos, who reside in Springs, Gauteng, vividly recalled how their world forever…
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A Refugee’s Fight for the Right to See
By: Tsadok Yehudah We often take for granted just how much we rely on our sense of sight in our daily lives. For Michelle Myers*, a documented Ethiopian refugee living in South Africa, this was a diminishing reality as her world was literally fading to black.…
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An Undocumented South African Mother’s Fight to Get Her Newborn Registered
By: Hloni Manare Bringing new life into the world is a life-changing experience for any mother. For 26-year-old, South African-born Maria Matthews*, news that she would become a mother for the second time was an exciting possibility. Like any other expectant mother, Maria prepared to welcome…
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Dignity restored: One Limpopo School’s Long Wait for Safe Sanitation Comes to an End
By: Gillian Pillay and Vuyelwa Nkumanda Nestled in the remote, lush hills of the Khalavha village in Fondwe, Venda, lies Jack Lavhengwa Secondary School, located in a region synonymous with water scarcity. Jack Lavhengwa is a Quintile 3, no fee-paying secondary school which accommodates fewer than…
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A Father’s Fight for His Children’s Right to Education
By: Benni Mudau The South African Constitution guarantees that every child has the right to access basic education. However, for siblings Lebogang* and Tebatso Ngcobo* – grade eight and ten learners respectively – from the New Horizon College, a private school in Harrismith in the Free…
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A Six-Year Old’s Struggle in Accessing Cancer Treatment in South Africa
By: Hloni Manare and Benni Mudau Any parent would be left powerless at the sight of their child suffering from an unexplained illness. Hassan Tesfaye* and his wife, Aida*, Ethiopian asylum seekers who have been living in Pretoria, South Africa, for 16 years, were all too…
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A Refugee’s Long Journey to Access Healthcare in South Africa
By: Samukelisiwe Msane Meet *Neema Ntumba, a 36-year-old refugee, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has called Pretoria her home for a decade. As a refugee, Neema can access the same healthcare services as South African citizens as set out in the Constitution. However,…
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Suspended for asserting her right against Corporal Punishment
By: Samukelisiwe Msane It started off as any normal school day for *Lindiwe, a grade 11 learner, from an independent school in Orange Farm, South of Johannesburg. Lindiwe vividly recalls the events which led to her being suspended for a period of 3 weeks, after she…
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SECTION27 assists a 14-year old to assert her right to a safe abortion
By: Faye Sagild It is any teenage girl’s worst fear, informing her parents that she is pregnant. In April 2023, 14-year-old (“Ayanda”), whose identity we have had to conceal due to her status as a minor, was confronted with this reality. Naturally, news that she was…
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A race against time: How SECTION27 helped a pregnant teen restore her right to education
By: Sabine Bos It’s October 2022, and a teenage girl’s future is at stake. She (‘Ntsiki’) is pregnant and – for that reason – has been expelled from school. She has been barred from writing her grade 12 school-leaving exam set to take place in approximately…
