This article was written by Marvin Charles and appeared on News24.com.
Young people in South Africa believe democracy does not work for them, according to Stellenbosch University's Law Trust Chair in Social Justice, Professor Thuli Madonsela.
She was speaking at the second annual Social Justice Lecture, which was held virtually on Tuesday.
She said:
Many young people are saying no to democracy, because it's not working for them. But democracy is ignoring the racial inequalities that were created by apartheid; democracy is ignoring the gender disparities that were created by patriarchy; and [the] underprivileged [are] ignored by democracy, and they do not want it.
Madonsela said young people are starting to understand that, through engagements, they can shake democracy.
"We already have a Constitution that serves as a basis for healing the divisions of our past. If we are to solve the problem, we need to look at all aspects of the past and address it. We cannot only solve poverty, we need to solve inequality," she said.
Madonsela said society has a collective role to play in democracy to make social justice work.