The Silent Sentence: Human Rights Day
The Silent Sentence. By Lesego Madihlaba There are prisons without bars, without walls; only the absence of words. A child sits in a classroom, eyes skimming over the letters on the board, but the meaning slips through their fingers like sand. The teacher’s voice fades into the background, replaced by a quiet panic; the kind that comes from knowing the world is speaking a language they were never taught to understand. Education is a right. A promise. A bridge. Yet, for millions of children in South Africa, it is a locked door. In 2021, 81% of Grade 4 learners were unable to read for meaning. Not in English and not even in their home languages. The very foundation meant to carry them forward is breaking beneath their feet, forcing them into a future where opportunity is written in a language they cannot access. Without literacy, justice becomes a distant echo. A child who cannot read their rights cannot defend them. Without literacy, poverty tightens its grip. A ch...