Marching for your rights on 21 March

South Africa marks Human Rights Day on Thursday, 30 years into democracy. This day aims to reflect, protect and defend the gains the country has made as a country regarding human rights.

COURTESY: GovernmentZA

Human Rights Day in South Africa is historically linked with the events in Sharpeville on 21 March 1960 when 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered to protest against the Pass laws.

Why we commemorate Human Rights Day? #HumanRightsDay #SouthAfrica #HumanRightsMonth #BushRadio pic.twitter.com/4N1H2hGaZi

— Bush Radio 89.5 FM (@Bushradio) March 20, 2024

Many organisations are using this day to embark on a march.

The ANC’s Dullah Omar region, along with trade unions, will march to the Cape Town Civic Centre on Thursday morning, in protest of service delivery. The provincial opposition wants the DA-led metro to stop taxi impoundments, provide better housing for citizens and ‘stop harassing’ the homelessness.

Civil society organisations, led by The Green Connection, wants government leaders to urgently address the Energy, Water, Food, Land, and Housing, and with a clear plan to end Gender-Based Violence across South Africa.

The Matriarch March sets to highlight for an equitable future. The march is organised by Sacred Unity Circle, comprising a voluntary group of women from diverse backgrounds. The march will commence at Sunrise Beach in Muizenberg at 7.30am and will conclude at the Princess Vlei Conservation area at 10am.

A Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage will see those participating, walk from Simon’s Town to the Cape Town CBD, representing the length of the besieged Gaza Strip, in a solidarity march calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a keynote address at the national commemoration of Human Rights Day. The commemoration will be held in Sharpeville in the Gauteng. The president will commence the day with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Sharpeville Memorial Site. Ramaphosa will be joined by the bereaved families of fallen victims to honour the fallen Sharpeville Massacre victims.

Done By: Mitchum George