10 Jan 2024

THE SA Human Rights Commission SAHRC is seeking to make school uniforms affordable, including getting the Department of Basic Education DBE to control the procurement of school uniforms and to provide for the wearing of gendernonconforming outfits to accommodate diverse gender identities. The commission has raised concerns that the cost of school uniforms can be prohibitive, leading to a lack of access to education for some pupils. This can be seen as a form of discrimination and a violation of their right to dignity. The Competition Commission revealed that it had received regular complaints about the cost of school uniforms, saying the increasing costs are largely as a result of anticompetitive behaviour, where a school forces parents to procure uniforms from one supplier.

31 Jan 2024

ALMOST nine years later, six Chatsworth families who were moved from a block of flats to park homes, are still waiting to move back or for the promise of freestanding houses to be delivered on. The residents said the park homes were erected on a primary school ground in Westcliff, due to the homes "collapsing" and a failing sewerage system. Christina Pillay, 81, shares a tworoom park home with her daughter Rosanne Singh, 47, soninlaw, and 12yearold grandson. Singh said they were told that it would take six months for the repairs to be completed at the flats. "But nine years later we are still waiting to go back to our flat. "While we are grateful to have a shelter, how much longer are we expected to wait to have a proper roof over our heads? "My son sleeps on a couch in the same room as my mother.

28 Jan 2024

Many female farm labourers in the racially divided agricultural sector of Limpopo claim they are the targets of ongoing abuse at work, especially in the neighbourhoods of Groblersdal and Marble Hall in the Sekhukhune region. One of the upset women claims that her life has been an agonising nightmare ever since she was wounded in the eye by a rubber bullet while working as a farm worker. Francina Maluleke claims that at a protest called by female workers on Sekhukhune farms, violence broke out, leaving her shot with a rubber bullet and her coworker Portia Mokgabudi run over.

11 Jan 2024

Some school uniform suppliers have been getting off lightly with no company fined or prosecuted yet for exclusive rights to sell uniform to parents despite a ruling against the practice three years ago. The Competition Commission confirmed that it had received 220 complaints from parents between January 2022 to date but no fines were issued or cases referred for prosecution because the commission followed an advocacy approach by engaging directly with schools to resolve some of the complaints.

30 Jan 2024

The Cultural, Religious and Linguistic CRL Rights Commission and the SA Human Rights Commission SAHRC have found there were lapses in intelligence and police capacity constraints that hampered efforts to deal with the July 2021 unrest. This was revealed at the release of both their reports into the unrest in Durban yesterday.

25 Jan 2024

VERULAM residents in Trenance Park who have been without water for almost 100 days, say their relief was shortlived on Tuesday, when water was restored to their taps for a few hours only for them to run dry again. Residents who spoke to The Mercury yesterday said they were fedup and disappointed as their lives were severely disrupted by the ongoing water outages. Protests have erupted in the area and other neighbouring communities affected by the outages. Resident Anusha Ramroop said the situation was dire as they had to constantly fill water containers to be able to do basic chores.

10 Jan 2024

THE SA Human Rights Commission SAHRC is seeking to make school uniforms affordable, including getting the Department of Basic Education DBE to control the procurement of school uniforms and to provide for the wearing of gender nonconforming outfits to accommodate diverse gender identities. The commission has raised concerns that the cost of school uniforms can be prohibitive, leading to a lack of access to education for some pupils. This can be seen as a form of discrimination and a violation of their right to dignity.

31 Jan 2024

Claims of an outdated uniform policy which does not accommodate queer, genderfluid, lesbian or other LGBTQl+ pupils are being made against a KwaDwesi school which has found itself at the centre of a heated row. Now calls are being made for the policy to be reviewed. Lungisa High School grade 11 pupils identifying as lesbian are allegedly being singled out, harassed, berated and even ridiculed for wearing trousers. While the situation escalates, a Gqeberha education expert and the SA Human Rights Commission SAIIRC have reiterated the need for reform to accommodate all gender norms.

30 Jan 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission SAHRC says the police failed in their basic mandate to detect the planning and execution of the violent unrest and looting which had devastated parts of the country in 2021. The report on the findings of the SAHRC hearings was released by the SAHRC with the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities' CRL Rights Commission report yesterday.

24 Jan 2024

An indignant Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is on a mission to find the person responsible for Photoshopping an image of a road sign, changing William Moffett Expressway to "William Mottle". The manipulated image has gone viral on social media, sending Bay residents into a frenzy. Moffie is a derogatory term used to describe bisexual men, or men seen as timid or unmasculine. Mayor Gary van Niekerk said the incident had angered him. "I am reviled by the reprehensible act of a person altering a prominent city road sign to display an offensive term," he said. "The audacity to tarnish the name of a wellknown road is deeply disturbing, leaving me profoundly astonished." Van Niekerk said municipal authorities were investigating the incident.