Human Rights Month: The Bill Of Rights At 30 | Intersectional Justice with Charlene May
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Are the promises of our Bill of Rights reaching the women who keep South Africa’s wheels turning, or is the legal system still failing those it claims to protect?
In this episode of our Human Rights Month: The Bill Of Rights At 30 series, Brendt Wayne de Wet sits down with legal powerhouse Charlene May. As the Director of the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) and a leading feminist advocate, Charlene has spent her career at the helm of litigation that challenges the very foundations of inequality in South Africa.
From the historic recognition of Muslim marriages to the hard-won labor rights of domestic workers, we dive into how race, class, and gender intersect to determine who actually receives the protection of the law. Charlene challenges us to look beyond "paper rights" and ask what it takes to dismantle the colonial and patriarchal legacies that still police women’s bodies and livelihoods today.
What we cover in this episode:
- The Value of Unpaid Care: Why the work women do in homes and rural communities - from childcare to subsistence farming - remains invisible on bank statements, and the urgent need for frameworks to protect this labor.
- The "Messy" Reality of Cohabitation: A look at why legal recognition for partners living together without a marriage certificate is a human rights "must-have" to prevent extreme vulnerability when relationships end.
- A Landmark Victory for Muslim Marriages: Reflecting on the 2022 WLC Constitutional Court win and the ongoing struggle to dismantle the "othering" of non-secular faiths in South African law.
- Domestic Workers and the Scars of Slavery: Insights from the Mahlangu case on how the lack of social security for domestic workers is tied to colonial legacies and why legal recognition is a vital moment of national healing.
- The Decriminalization of Sex Work: A discussion on the policing of "morality" and why the WLC is fighting for the right of consenting adults - particularly black women - to determine what they do with their own bodies.
Identity and Inheritance: Exploring how patriarchal traditions and religious frameworks impact the rights of transgender beneficiaries and why we must have difficult family conversations about wealth and estates.
Key Resources & Highlights:
Intersectional Feminism in Practice: Why the WLC insists that law and policy must reflect the "lived realities" of marginalized women to be effective.
- The Draft Marriage Bill: An update on the legislative shifts aimed at providing a safety net for all South Africans, regardless of how they choose to partner.
- The Positive Obligation of the State: Understanding why it is the government's duty to actively enact laws that fix historic discrimination rather than waiting for "the market" or society to change.
Human Rights Month Series Details:
MFM 92.6 is dedicated to exploring the pillars of our democracy throughout March. Join us as we interview the legal minds and activists ensuring that dignity is a realized human right for every woman in South Africa.
Explore the Women's Legal Centre: https://wlce.co.za/
Stream MFM 92.6: www.mfm.co.za
Follow us on Socials: @mfm926
#MFM926 #HumanRightsMonth #BillOfRights30 #CharleneMay #WomensLegalCentre #IntersectionalFeminism #SocialJustice #GenderEquality #StellenboschUniversity #SouthAfrica 🐿️
In this episode of our Human Rights Month: The Bill Of Rights At 30 series, Brendt Wayne de Wet sits down with legal powerhouse Charlene May. As the Director of the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) and a leading feminist advocate, Charlene has spent her career at the helm of litigation that challenges the very foundations of inequality in South Africa.
From the historic recognition of Muslim marriages to the hard-won labor rights of domestic workers, we dive into how race, class, and gender intersect to determine who actually receives the protection of the law. Charlene challenges us to look beyond "paper rights" and ask what it takes to dismantle the colonial and patriarchal legacies that still police women’s bodies and livelihoods today.
What we cover in this episode:
- The Value of Unpaid Care: Why the work women do in homes and rural communities - from childcare to subsistence farming - remains invisible on bank statements, and the urgent need for frameworks to protect this labor.
- The "Messy" Reality of Cohabitation: A look at why legal recognition for partners living together without a marriage certificate is a human rights "must-have" to prevent extreme vulnerability when relationships end.
- A Landmark Victory for Muslim Marriages: Reflecting on the 2022 WLC Constitutional Court win and the ongoing struggle to dismantle the "othering" of non-secular faiths in South African law.
- Domestic Workers and the Scars of Slavery: Insights from the Mahlangu case on how the lack of social security for domestic workers is tied to colonial legacies and why legal recognition is a vital moment of national healing.
- The Decriminalization of Sex Work: A discussion on the policing of "morality" and why the WLC is fighting for the right of consenting adults - particularly black women - to determine what they do with their own bodies.
Identity and Inheritance: Exploring how patriarchal traditions and religious frameworks impact the rights of transgender beneficiaries and why we must have difficult family conversations about wealth and estates.
Key Resources & Highlights:
Intersectional Feminism in Practice: Why the WLC insists that law and policy must reflect the "lived realities" of marginalized women to be effective.
- The Draft Marriage Bill: An update on the legislative shifts aimed at providing a safety net for all South Africans, regardless of how they choose to partner.
- The Positive Obligation of the State: Understanding why it is the government's duty to actively enact laws that fix historic discrimination rather than waiting for "the market" or society to change.
Human Rights Month Series Details:
MFM 92.6 is dedicated to exploring the pillars of our democracy throughout March. Join us as we interview the legal minds and activists ensuring that dignity is a realized human right for every woman in South Africa.
Explore the Women's Legal Centre: https://wlce.co.za/
Stream MFM 92.6: www.mfm.co.za
Follow us on Socials: @mfm926
#MFM926 #HumanRightsMonth #BillOfRights30 #CharleneMay #WomensLegalCentre #IntersectionalFeminism #SocialJustice #GenderEquality #StellenboschUniversity #SouthAfrica 🐿️
