Dr Iqbal Survé | Why Human Rights Still Matter

By Dr Iqbal Survé

On this Human Rights Day, we are called to reflect not only on our past, but on the soul of our nation and the moral compass of humanity itself. This is not simply a day of remembrance—it is an awakening. A moment to ask: what does it truly mean to be human in a world still marred by inequality, violence, and exclusion? What are the responsibilities we carry as beneficiaries of hard-won freedoms? And how do we honour those who died so that we might live with dignity?

Human Rights Day in South Africa finds its origins in the tragedy of Sharpeville, where 69 unarmed protestors were killed in 1960 for daring to resist the dehumanising pass laws of apartheid. They did not die for abstract ideals. They died for the right to walk freely, to belong, to be recognised as full human beings. Their sacrifice demands more from us than ceremonial reflection. It demands a relentless pursuit of justice, equality, and the full expression of human dignity—not just in South Africa, but wherever rights are denied.

I speak not from the sidelines, but as someone shaped by the very struggle that gave birth to this democracy. As a young doctor during apartheid, I was known as “the struggle doctor” because I treated countless activists who had been brutalised in detention. I saw firsthand what happens when a state denies its citizens their humanity. I treated broken bodies, but I also encountered broken spirits, people tortured for the dream of a better country. It was in those moments, caring for the wounded and the voiceless, that I came to understand a deeper truth: health is inseparable from human rights, and human dignity cannot flourish in the absence of justice.

The implementation of South Africa’s Bill of Rights in 1997 was a defining milestone—not only in our legal history, but in our moral evolution as a nation. For the first time, every South African—regardless of race, gender, class, or creed—was constitutionally guaranteed the right to live without fear, to speak freely, to love openly, and to access the foundations of a dignified life: education, healthcare, housing, food, and water. The Bill of Rights did not simply repeal unjust laws. It reclaimed our humanity.

But the struggle for human rights is not frozen in history. It lives—and it evolves. We must safeguard freedom of expression from both oppressive control and the harmful spread of misinformation. We must hold fast to the right to education and employment, particularly for our youth, who are still locked out of opportunity by poverty, inequality, and systemic exclusion.

And we must confront with urgency the scourge of gender-based violence—a crisis that violates the very essence of our constitutional values. That a woman in South Africa lives in fear is a stain on our democracy. We cannot build a culture of human rights while half our population lives under siege. Empowering women, protecting children, and dismantling patriarchal norms must be central to our national agenda—not as charity, but as justice.

What can we learn from this Human Rights Day? These rights are not passive entitlements, but active commitments. Democracy is not self-sustaining; it is defended daily through the choices we make, the voices we amplify, and the injustices we refuse to ignore. Human rights are the moral fabric of our shared humanity. Whether enshrined in South Africa’s Bill of Rights or declared in international covenants, they represent a collective promise: that every person matters, and that no one should be left behind.

We should honour our freedom fighters not only for their sacrifices, but for the enduring principles they stood for—dignity, justice, and the determined belief in a better tomorrow.

To honour human rights is to honour our shared humanity. And to truly honour our humanity, we must be brave enough to stand for others—even when their struggles are not our own.

* Dr Iqbal Survé is the Chairman of Sekunjalo Group and the Past Chair of the BRICS Business Council & Co-Chair of the BRICS Media Forum and BNN. Follow Dr Survé's updates via his WhatsApp Channel.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.