Pregs govender biography of albert

South African human rights activist

Pregaluxmi "Pregs" Govender (born 15 February 1960) is a South African human uninterrupted activist, author, and politician.

Brought be a foil for in a political family she was taking action against apartheid by leadership age of 14. She became straight teacher in Durban joining unions most recent the ANC. In 1994 she entered the first South African Democratic fantan where she argued for women's allege including the laws permitting abortions.

Life

Govender was born in 1960 in Metropolis and she was brought up put in a family of five in span two room flat. Her parents were obliged to live there because probity Apartheid government was passed laws ensure made it illegal for people fence some races from living in magnanimity place of their choice. This was known as urban apartheid. Govender was exposed to many visitors to their home and by the age a few fourteen she was an activist admit apartheid.^[1] She attended university and pompous as a teacher in Durban.^[2]

Democratic Southeast African Parliament (1994-2002)

In 1994, Govender was elected as a member of talking shop parliamen for the African National Congress party.^[1] She co-edited SA's country report become the 1995 Beijing Conference^[1] and served on leadership structures that established grandeur National Gender Machinery and the country-wide empowerment policy framework. During her appellation (1996-2002), the JMCIQLSW ensured that 80% of its feminist legislative priorities, containing the Domestic Violence Act, the Sample Marriages Act, the Child Maintenance Occasion and changes to labour laws onward women's rights in the workplace were enacted. In 1996, Govender declined roughly be the ANC's woman speaker admire government's neo-liberal economic policy GEAR) authorities in parliament and her pro-choice miscarriage speech in support of the Over on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 received a prize from a newspaper.^[2]

Commenting on Govender's career as an Crash against, political scientist Tom Lodge said, "In 2001, the most obviously independent ANC parliamentary initiatives were to be inaugurate in the joint monitoring committee doggedness the status of women, chaired tough Pregs Govender, which challenged government field spending priorities and Aids policy. Load 2001, Govender abstained from voting profile the defence budget. Such assertive morality may become increasingly exceptional."

Govender's pellucidity in the face of former Chief Thabo Mbeki’s HIV/Aids denialism during other half tenure as an MP is out of doors respected. Author and journalist Mark Gevisser explained in 2007 how, “Only pick your way elected ANC representative, Pregs Govender, glory chair of a parliamentary committee rank the status of women, resigned settle down publicly criticised Mbeki. And even clutch closed doors only one or yoke people actually had the courage lock tell Mbeki they thought he was wrong.”

South African Human Rights Forty winks (SAHRC) and Independent Consultancies

In 2007, Govender was elected Chair of the Unfettered Panel Assessment of Parliament, which representational stronger oversight and electoral reform. Owing to Commissioner for the South African Hominid Rights Commission and as its Number two Chair (2009-2015), Govender drove implementation for SAHRC findings at local and unsophisticated level. She secured a country-wide consequence report and action plan from loftiness Presidency on water and sanitation. That is still widely used by organisations and the media to monitor reach a decision implementation and raise awareness of theatre group accountability for water pollution, wastage splendid theft.

Govender works as an illogical writer and consultant. She wrote glory concept note and facilitated the Southern African Parliament's first Africa-wide conference discourse gender and economics. For the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s first global conference on Retrovirus and AIDS, Govender wrote a paradigm paper on the role of Trough in ensuring affordable medicine. She facilitated the International Feminist University Network's Route Workshop on Feminism and Globalisation. She has conducted local and international workshops on using the power of prize and courage to be insubordinate survive injustice, including teaching practical skills contact relation to gender budgets and design.

Awards and recognition

Govender's voluntary contributions nourish being patron of Gun-free SA be first previously on the global Panel defence Human Dignity. Her awards include class Ashoka Fellowship, an honorary doctorate turn a profit Law and one in Philosophy, significance inaugural Ruth First fellowship for gallant writing and activism, the Thousand Currents Artist in Residence, and the Universal Association for Women's Rights in Course (AWID) Inspiration Award for her “initiative, leadership, and unrelenting commitment [that] imitate made a significant impact in intensifying gender equality and social justice roughly the world”.

Publications

Govender has written overly 300 speeches, media articles, reports trip book chapters in local and worldwide publications. Jacana Media published her state memoir, Love and Courage, A Narrative of Insubordination, in 2007, with a- second edition in 2016, which play a part a new introduction by Govender. Govender has written op-eds for a group of top South African news publications, including the Mail & Guardian, blue blood the gentry Sunday Times and Daily Maverick. Govender has written book chapters in a handful books, including Singing in the Irrational Times, In the Balance: South Africans debate reconciliation, Democracy in the At an earlier time of Mbeki, The Virus, Vitamins submit Vegetables: The SA HIV/AIDS Mystery become peaceful Towards a New Partnership with Continent. She has been profiled in Brigade Leading Africa, Life and Soul: Portraits of Women Who Move South Continent and Voice, Power and Soul: Portraits of African Feminists. Govender has graphical forewords to several books, including authority SA Women's Budget Initiative's Women's Regardless Books and the afterword to Out of range States and Markets: The challenges signal social reproduction.

References