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Chapter 1
Related Sections
1
INTRODUCTION
2
What is a Constitution?
3
What is a democracy?
4
DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
5
CODESA
6
The Multi-Party Negotiating Process
7
The Constitutional Assembly (CA)
8
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION
9
The relationship between the Constitution and other laws
10
Changing or amending the Constitution
11
The separation of powers
12
The spheres of government
13
SUMMARY OF THE CONSTITUTION
14
Preamble
15
Chapter 1: Founding provisions
16
Chapter 2: The Bill of Rights
17
Chapter 3: Cooperative government
18
Chapter 4: Parliament
19
Chapter 5: The President and the national executive
20
Chapter 6: Provinces
21
Schedule 4: Concurrent functional areas of National and Provincial legislatures
22
Schedule 5: Functional areas of Provincial legislatures
23
Chapter 7: Local government
24
Chapter 8: Courts and administration of justice
25
Chapter 9: State institutions that support constitutional democracy
26
Chapter 10: Public administration
27
Chapter 11: Security services
28
Chapter 12: Traditional authorities
29
Chapter 13: Finance
30
Chapter 14: General provisions
31
HUMAN RIGHTS
32
What are human rights?
33
Indivisibility of rights
34
Rights and responsibilities
35
Conflicts in rights
36
International documents on human rights
37
Creating a human rights culture in South Africa
38
SUMMARY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN BILL OF RIGHTS
39
Section 7: Introduction
40
Chapter 8: Application of the Bill of Rights
41
Section 9: Right to Equality
42
Section 10: Right to human dignity
43
Section 11: Right to life
44
Section 12: Freedom and security of the person
45
Section 13: Slavery, servitude and forced labour
46
Section 14: Right to privacy
47
Section 15: Freedom of religion, belief and opinion
48
Section 16: Freedom of speech and expression
49
Section 17: Freedom of assembly, demonstration picket and petition
50
Section 18: Freedom of association
51
Section 19: Political rights
52
Section 20: Citizenship
53
Section 21: Freedom of movement and residence
54
Section 22: Freedom of trade, occupation and profession
55
Section 23: Labour relations
56
Section 24: Environment
57
Section 25: Property
58
Section 26: Right of access to housing
59
Section 27: Right of access to health care, food, water and social security
60
Section 28: Children’s rights
61
Section 29; Education
62
Section 30: Language and culture
63
Section 31: Cultural, religious and linguistic communities
64
Section 32: Access to information
65
Section 33: Just administrative action
66
Section 34: Access to courts
67
Section 35: Arrested, detained and accused persons
68
Section 36: Limitations on rights
69
Section 37: States of emergency
70
Section 38: Enforcing rights
71
Section 39: Interpreting the Bill of Rights
72
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
73
The Public Protector
74
South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
75
Commission on Gender Equality (CGE)
76
Auditor General
77
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (Cultural Rights Commission)
78
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
79
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)
80
Land Claims Commission (LCC)
81
PROBLEMS
82
Problem 1: Taking a case to the South African Human Rights Commission
83
Problem 2: Making a complaint to the Public Protector
84
Problem 3: Taking a case to the Commission on Gender Equality
85
CHECKLISTS
86
Checklist: Reporting human rights complaints

Commission on Gender Equality (CGE)

The CGE will protect men and women who complain that they have been discriminated against because of their gender or sex. The CGE will also advise lawmakers on laws that affect equality between men and women, and on the position of women as citizens.

The CGE is an independent body and is only accountable to the Constitution and to Parliament. The commission must send a report of its activities to Parliament at least once a year. The CGE consists of a chairperson and 7 to 11 members. The National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces nominate and approve members to the CGE. The members of the CGE stay in office for 7 years.

The Commission on Gender Equality Act makes no provision for provincial offices. The functions of the CGE are to:

  • Monitor, evaluate, review and report on laws, policies and practices of different government bodies and private businesses that affect gender equality
  • Monitor international conventions to make sure that our laws and policies follow these
  • Do research about gender equality
  • Make recommendations to any legislature (in other words, any government body that makes laws) to adopt new laws to promote gender equality
  • Network with institutions and other bodies to promote gender equality
  • Educate civil society about gender equality
  • Investigate any gender-related issues if someone makes a complaint
  • Resolve disputes if someone has made a complaint
  • Refer any complaint that it can’t resolve to the public protector or the South African human rights commission

WHAT CAN THE CGE DO?

The CGE has the power to:

  • Order a person to attend a hearing
  • Order a person to give evidence or produce any document
  • Enter a person’s home or a workplace, if this is necessary for an investigation

The CGE can request any level of government to assist them with an investigation or with any of their functions.

MAKING A COMPLAINT TO THE CGE

Anyone can make a complaint to the CGE for an alleged violation. The complaint can be in any language. Your complaint should include the following information:

  • Your name, address and telephone number
  • Who you are complaining about and their contact details
  • What happened to you, when it happened and who was involved
  • What law you think has been broken and how
  • Whether you have made a complaint anywhere else and, if so, what happened

You can use any of the following ways to make a complaint:

  • By post
  • Send a hard copy complaint form
  • Complete an online complaint form
  • By email

Follow the link on the CGE website for access to the complaint form, online complaint portal and email address: https://cge.org.za/complaints/

If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 7 days, you can send an email to the CGE or call them on 011 304 7182. After receiving your complaint an investigation/legal officer will be allocated to look into your complaint. The officer will call you to discuss how the matter will be taken forward.