Original Research - Special Collection: Spirit Rising Tracing Movements of Justice

Embodying human rights in #FeesMustFall? Contributions from an indecent theology

Lisa Grassow, Clint Le Bruyns
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 73, No 3 | a4799 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4799 | © 2017 Lisa Grassow, Clint Le Bruyns | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 28 August 2017 | Published: 15 November 2017

About the author(s)

Lisa Grassow, Theology and Development Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Clint Le Bruyns, Theology and Development Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

This article focuses on the #FeesMustFall (FMF) movement and the question of a human rights culture. It provides evidence from the specific context of FMF at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, which exposes human rights abuses and violence to the dignity of protesting students. To advance a human rights culture within the higher education sector in the context of FMF, the article highlights the role of theology – ‘indecent theology’ (as espoused by Marcella Althaus-Reid) – in revealing the problem and promise of higher education institutions in the quest for a more liberating and responsible society. It is only through interrogating the narratives that sustain the current university structures – and continue to oppress the poor and the marginalised – that South Africa will be able to begin to construct a society that is respective of the rights of all.

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Crossref Citations

1. Curating Violence: Reflecting on Race and Religion in Campaigns for Decolonizing the University in South Africa
Federico Settler
Religions  vol: 10  issue: 5  first page: 310  year: 2019  
doi: 10.3390/rel10050310