{"id":33423,"date":"2022-08-17T19:04:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T17:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/spu-cferi-signs-lease-agreement-with-zf-mgcawu-district-municipality-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T07:06:56","slug":"judge-yvonne-mokgoro-delivers-spu-womens-month-lecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/judge-yvonne-mokgoro-delivers-spu-womens-month-lecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Yvonne Mokgoro delivers SPU Women\u2019s Month lecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year during August, Sol Plaatje University<\/a><\/span> (SPU) hosts a public lecture celebrating Women\u2019s Month and the critical role women play in our society. This year\u2019s lecture was delivered by retired Justice of the Constitutional Court and former Chair of the Sol Plaatje University Council Judge Yvonne Mokgoro<\/a>. The lecture, titled \u2018Women\u2019s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women\u2019s Improved Resilience\u2019, was hosted at SPU\u2019s Central Campus Library Auditorium and streamed live on Facebook<\/span><\/a>, where more than 700 people had viewed it within the first four days.<\/p>\n

In her opening remarks Judge Mokgoro expressed her views on the importance of men and women working together to fight the scourge of gender-based violence against women and children. \u201cThe indictment is not only on women; it is on men and women to work together. That is the only way we can deal with the scourge of the\u00a0 brutal killings of women in our country,\u201d she said. \u201cWe cannot allow killer men to kill women and children simply because they can. There is a huge responsibility from all of us, and the system, to stop the killer men. Unless we do that, we will be sending killer men to the world to represent us.\u201d<\/p>\n

She dismissed the notion that courts should and must address societal challenges such as gender-based violence, and reminded the audience about the functions and powers of the courts. \u201cThe courts have no power or authority to address any matter unless it is brought\u00a0 as a case or dispute. The notion that courts may address societal challenges themselves \u2013 even if these are related questions to our Constitution \u2013 is a misnomer. Courts do not have the power to resolve societal problems. It is only when a dispute arises between parties that the court acts, interprets, and applies the law to the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Mokgoro also discussed citizens\u2019 rights and clarified that the rights protected in our Constitution are not absolute: \u201cRights have their limitations, prescribed in the limitations clause of the Constitution (section 36). We need laws that protect those rights\u2026 For example, if there are no laws passed to alleviate poverty, the government has to create the laws, passed by Parliament, and then those laws must be enforced. Without them, the courts have no authority to resolve the plight, outside of cases and arguments that come before them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also addressed the importance of women\u2019s empowerment as South Africa commemorates Women\u2019s Month. \u201cWhen it comes to addressing questions about women\u2019s leadership, it is the advancement and development of women that determines the level of development of any society\u2026 Nothing is more convincing that women are more than capable and competent to join the judiciary than having a woman as Deputy Chief Justice. Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya could easily have been Chief Justice. As she said when interviewed for the position, \u2018I\u2019m not good because I\u2019m a woman, I\u2019m just a good woman judge.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She ended her lecture by imploring women to continue believing in themselves, spoke harshly against the plight of vulnerable women and children killed by killer men, and reiterated the importance of women taking their place at every level of society. \u201cIf we don\u2019t wake up as a nation and rid ourselves of the attitude and tendency that allows us to kill women and children, exploiting their vulnerability as we please and because we can, we will miss the boat, and the opportunity to reach our full potential and take our rightful place among the nations of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year during August, Sol Plaatje University (SPU) hosts a public lecture celebrating Women\u2019s Month and the critical role women play in our society. This year\u2019s lecture was delivered by retired Justice of the Constitutional Court and former Chair of Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"coauthors":[185],"class_list":["post-33423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge Yvonne Mokgoro delivers SPU Women\u2019s Month lecture - Sol Plaatje University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To celebrate Women's Month, Justice of the Constitutional Court and former Chair of the SPU Council Judge Yvonne Mokgoro delivered a...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/judge-yvonne-mokgoro-delivers-spu-womens-month-lecture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge Yvonne Mokgoro delivers SPU Women\u2019s Month lecture - 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