Pretoria - A society where no one is dominated by another is the wish of Sharon Ekambaram, the head of Lawyers for Human Rights’ (LHR) Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme for all during this Women’s Month.
Ekambaram, a human rights activist involved in the struggle for social justice, has overcome many struggles herself. Her message to women, in particular, is never give up hope for a better life.
“We owe it to this generation and those to come to transform this society and to be the beacon of hope for the world and to be a society in which no one is dominated by another.”
The mother of two said this is what people like Chris Hani sacrificed their life fighting for.
As head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme, she is part of the biggest programme at LHR.
“The work of the programme goes back to 1996 when civil society played a critical role through Parliament in policy formulation.
“This is a policy held up as one of the most humane and progressive policies on refugee protection in the world – until the amendments came into law in 2020.”
Ekambaram said Lawyers for Human Rights is led predominantly by women, and young black African women are in the majority. She said the daily substance of the work is dealing with people deeply wounded and damaged by the ills of society.
Ekambaram said one thing is common across programmes at LHR – be it the programme dealing with penal reform and immigration arrest and detention, or the Environmental Rights Programme or the Land and Housing Programme – government’s failure to often protect the people.
“We consistently witness the failure of our government to ensure that policies are enforced. That our values enshrined in our Constitution of respect for human rights and dignity for all who live in South Africa are adhered to by civil servants.”
“But worst of all, we are failing the working-class women. And this failure is as a conscious act of corruption and ‘reallocation’ of resources intended for reconstruction and the transformation of our country.”
Ekambaram’s history has been one of being involved in class struggles – in the days of apartheid or working as co-ordinator of the Chris Hani Project.
“At the Chris Hani Project, the objective in setting up such an institution was to promote the values and principles practised by Chris Hani and others in their struggle to serve the aspirations of ordinary working people and the poor in Southern Africa.”
She added that struggle and building solidarity has been an integral part of work that she has been involved in.
“At Lawyers for Human Rights, this work continues, and not having a legal background, I am inspired to work with activist lawyers who, through their commitment to social justice, restore peoples’ faith in humanity. The word is dignity.”
She said this is the positive side of South Africa – that there is such a thing as the struggle for social justice.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people who engage and fight the good fight for equality for all.”
Growing up in Northdale in Pietermaritzburg with working-class parents, she felt the pain and the indignity of poverty.
“It has got to be eradicated,” Ekambaram said.
Before joining LHR, she worked for Doctors Without Borders as the founding director of the organisation’s Southern Africa office and later as the head of the advocacy and networking programme.
She was also the head ofMédecins Sans Frontières (MSF) South Africa’s Dr Neil Aggett Unit, which provides programmatic and advocacy support for MSF’s regional activities.
She was also the founding director of the MSF Southern Africa office. She was involved in the struggle against apartheid, which included working to build the Marxist Workers Tendency of the ANC in the period from 1988 to mid-1990s.
Ekambaram became a health activist with the Treatment Action Campaign and has been involved in HIV/Aids work since 1990.
She has worked on issues of HIV and TB prevention and treatment and the impact of socio-economic inequalities on health, heading the advocacy work of the Aids Consortium.
She also established the Chris Hani Institute in 2004 to serve as a monument to the aspirations of ordinary working people and the poor in South Africa.
Pretoria News