Photo Instagram / @artby.aiesha
South Africa – Ayesha Kajee is a celebrated figure known for her roles as an esteemed Author, Writer, and Activist. Her illustrious career includes consultancy in governance, development, and human rights.
Furthermore, Kajee previously held the position of Director at South Africa’s Freedom of Expression Institute and was the pioneering Director of the International Human Rights Exchange Program at Wits University. Her academic contributions encompass lectures on subjects, such as Human Rights, Politics, and International Relations.
Across various African nations, including Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, to name a few, Kajee conducted extensive research and observations related to transformative justice mechanisms and peace negotiations, contributing significantly to understanding governance dynamics.
Kajee finds immense fascination in being a part of and witnessing these procedures. She emphasises the pivotal role played by women in their grassroots-level implementation.
“Those processes were really fascinating. There’s a lot of horse-trading, and there’s a lot of compromise that goes on. Of course, those are at a national level. But when it comes to actually making peace on the ground, you find that women play a very vital and key role because very often they are the link pins around which societies and communities are organised.”
Ayesha Kajee, the Activist
According to Kajee, during her upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa, individuals had two choices, staying uninformed or taking a stand as anti-apartheid advocates. Given her family’s strong ties to multiple anti-apartheid organisations, including the ANC, PAC, and UDF, her course of action was evident.
“I naturally gravitated in that direction, particularly during my high school and University years. The interest in anti-apartheid activism became a broader interest in human rights work … I was always interested in the field of Rights and naturally gravitated that way. I ended up doing a Master’s in Development Management in Scotland, and that reinforced the areas I wanted to work in. [The areas] were centred around rights issues but particularly education issues, gender issues and of course freedom of speech and media issues.”
As she immersed herself in anti-apartheid activism, Kajee developed a profound interest in Human Rights. Consequently, she committed much of her time to acquiring the necessary academic skills and qualifications to address various societal concerns, including Human Rights, Freedom of Expression, and Gender-related issues.
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Addressing Gender Disparities
Gender inequality remains a pressing concern in South Africa, with women experiencing disparities in multiple facets of life and instances of abuse and gender-based violence. South Africa, a nation rich in diverse cultural values and norms, continues perpetuating gender inequality irrespective of race, ethnicity, or belief.
As a result, Kajee contends, the path to societal advancement in South Africa necessitates the abandonment of entrenched “patriarchal cultural norms” that have permeated various beliefs and cultural traditions.
The objective is to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions while empowering young women to assert their rights to equal and fair treatment and encouraging young men to support this endeavour actively.
“Unfortunately, in our day-to-day practice of Islam, we very often incorporate cultural values that we think are Islamic values and they’re not. There’s no reason for women to actually be suppressed or oppressed in Muslim societies, according to the example of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) and his companions. However, we need to shed the patriarchal cultural norms that we’ve assimilated, whether it is from Indian culture, African culture or Indonesian or Malay culture, we need to shed those. We need to go back to the examples and see how in that society it worked and adapted.”
