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Ashwanee Budoo from the Gender Unit at the Centre for Human Rights spoke to SABC Morning Live (video below) on the the naked protest staged at Rhodes University, where female students caused quite a stir last week when they protested against sexual violence half-naked.

Many people view human rights as a set of moral principles that apply to everyone. The recognition of human rights is important to people because they then feel like the society is treating them on an equal basis as others. It affords them the security that they will not be treated inferior to any other human being.

Human rights afford people with the right to protest. Some countries provide for the right to protest in their Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which a formal statement of the fundamental rights of the people. The South African Bill of Rights is similar since it provides for the right to protest in its section 17. Section 17 of the Bill of Rights provides for the right to peaceful and unarmed protests. A protest is basically ‘a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something’. Therefore, any act of protest is linked with an array of emotions.

As we have seen in the recent protests happening in South Africa, these emotions make people go to extremes. People tend to resort to extreme acts because they are frustrated and desperate that their cause fades in the many other existing causes without any concrete steps being taken. Resorting to acts like stripping naked or being violent attract media attention and assures the protesters that they are in focus. Indeed, both the #FeesMustFall campaign and the current alleged rape protests did receive attention from the relevant authorities and there are now steps that are being taken to remedy the situation.

The question which arises in the context of the protests that have been happening in South Africa recently is whether the one can go to any extent to have their concerns heard.

From a legal point of view, human rights can either be absolute or limited. Absolute rights mean that that particular human rights cannot be restricted. For instance, in South Africa, the right to life is absolute because nobody, including the state, is allowed to take the life of someone. On the contrary, rights such as the right to protest can be limited. Such a limitation is provided for by section 36 ‘to the extent that it is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom’ and it has to take into account several factors. Section 36 of the Bill of Rights applies to the right to protest and there have been laws adopted to regulate the exercise this right, including the Regulation of Public Gatherings Act, which states that the right to protest must be exercised with due regards to the rights of others.

In the context of the half-naked protests happening at the Rhodes University concerning the rape claims, the Sexual Offences Act limits the rights of people to protest. The Sexual Offences Act provides that ‘any person who is 18 years or older who wilfully and openly exhibits himself or herself in an indecent dress or manner at any door or window or within view of any public street or place or in any place to which the public have access, shall be guilty of an offence’. This provision of the law was enacted taking into account all the requirements of section 36 of the Constitution and therefore, irrespective of the emotions that one is experiencing, legally speaking, nudity as a form of protest is not allowed in South Africa.

Therefore, even if one is filled with emotions, one is not allowed to use extremes in protests which can result in the violation of other laws or the rights of other persons.