MANDLA MAJOLA

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 11 - Gender based violence - Lorna Mlofana

In 2004/2005, 306 rapes cases were reported in Khayelitsha alone. The 306 reported rapes however do not give a true reflection of the incidence of rape in this community as 42% of Rape Crisis clients did not report their rapes to the SAPS in the same year. Nationally only 7 - 9% of perpetrators of reported rape cases are convicted and between 40 - 60% of all reported rape cases are withdrawn. What can and should be done to address this social ill? In this episode the group, with the Lorna Mlofana's case as study, reflected on how sustained community mobilisation can ensure justice.

Patient Abuse

Patient Abuse follows the events leading up to the formation of the Treatment Action Campaign and their struggles to access affordable quality treatment for all South Africans, by challenging the patent laws protecting the profits of multinational drug companies. Patient Abuse tells of how the Treatment Action Campaign grew from a handful of people on the steps of St Georges Cathedral to an organisation of thousands with support from activists around the globe. In April of 2001 the TAC was victorious when the PMA withdrew it's case.

Law and Freedom

Director: Zackie Achmat

Part 2: It’s a Nice Country! We meet courageous women and men who have used the Constitution to build democracy and a better life for all. First, we meet Irene Grootboom whose struggle for housing culminated in a landmark ruling of the Constitutional Court that is seen as crucial for the establishment of greater socio-economic rights. In the case of Ngxuza and others v the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, we meet the Meltafas, who even in the new democratic order, had to challenge abuse of power when their grants were unlawfully withdrawn. When labeled a troublemaker by officials, Mrs Meltafa responds, "You have been sleeping, I have woken you up!". It’s a Nice Country! also explores the case of the Treatment Action Campaign’s battle for the use of antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In this personal reading of the "Nevirapine case," Achmat pays tribute to TAC members who, through their work of education and community mobilisation, used the Constitution to achieve access to life saving treatment.