This December, we call on South Africans to be an active citizens and recommit to:
- Stopping gender-based violence
- Uniting against corruption
- Following the science and getting vaccinated
These are dark days, but South Africans have survived times far darker than this, and we must find new reserves and continue the fight for what is true and right and strong.
We are in the middle of one vital battle – the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence began on 25 November 2021 and continues until 10 December. We must not give up hope that this essential battle can be won. We must continue to press for a country in which women and girls are equals to their brothers, and in which gender-based violence is vanquished.
On Friday 3 December 2021, Defend our Democracy’s week-long campaign against corruption in South Africa begins, building up towards 9 December, which is marked annually across the globe as International Anti-Corruption Day. This is another critical critical battle that we must continue to fight.
Defend our Democracy’s campaign culminates on 10 December, International Human Rights Day, providing an opportunity to reflect on how corruption affects our fundamental rights. The theme for the week is “United in Action Against Corruption”, and calls for accountability, transparency and “recovery with integrity”, particularly in light of Covid-19 corruption. We in South Africa must not fail in the fight against corruption.
The emergence of the Omicron variant has underlined the importance of vaccination as the first line of defence against Covid-19. It is more than clear now, after nearly a year of vaccination, that the World Health Organization-approved vaccinations provide protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and deaths.
In May, our co-founders Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Leah Tutu led by example, becoming two of the first elderly South Africans to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation calls on South Africans to follow the science and get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Photo credit: AFP