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Opinion: Acknowledge South Africa’s Deaf community by changing your perspective

23 September 2022 | Story Jani de Lange | Photo Rulanzen Martin

Opinion by Jani de Lange, Lecturer and PhD candidate at the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies, University of the Free State.

September is designated as the National Month of Deaf People in South Africa. This includes the International Week of Deaf People (19-25 September) and the United Nations-recognised International Day of Sign Languages (23 September). This month commemorates the first World Deaf Congress, held in Italy in September 1951, at which the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) was established. The purpose of this month is to raise public awareness about Deaf people’s concerns and successes, about hearing loss, deafness, Deaf culture, as well as sign languages – in our case, South African Sign Language (SASL). The WFD, as the international Deaf organisation, allocates a theme every year to guide Deaf awareness campaigns. This year’s is ‘Building Inclusive Communities for All’. Considering the recent proposed amendment to include SASL as South Africa’s 12th official language, and our yearly celebrations of our diverse heritage on 24 September, this theme is applicable to all South Africans, not only the Deaf. But how much do we really know about this minority group?

To me, the success of this group is evident in their fight for the recognition of SASL, especially with regards to access to quality education. The Deaf community of South Africa has been fighting for the recognition of SASL for many years. The pre-1994 policy of racial segregation was extended to children’s hearing status, which resulted in small pockets of Deaf school communities away from their hearing peers. The education system at the time promoted the use of oralism (teaching Deaf children to lip-read and denying the use of SASL), and many Deaf children did not go to school. Despite this, SASL continued to develop among the different communities. This resulted in different dialects of SASL, a language with its own vocabulary and grammar rules. This language is an integral part of any Deaf person’s identity, and functions as a marker of cultural membership.

SASL needs more recognition as a Home Language

The Schools Act of 1996 recognises sign language (not specifically referring to SASL) as “official” for the purposes of teaching and learning in Deaf Schools. Unfortunately, this stipulation did not necessarily change the educational prospects for this group. While SASL was used as a medium of instruction, it was not accepted as an exit-level Home Language subject. According to an article published in the ‘African Disability Rights Yearbook’ in 2016, this led to many dropping out of school at Grade 7. Some learners were able to attend hearing schools by making use of residual hearing or assistive devices, but they either dropped out, or completed Grade 12 with poor results. Only a small group finished with an endorsed certificate. In all these scenarios, the prospects for tertiary education and employment are limited. A step towards improving educational opportunities for the Deaf was achieved in 2009: A family wanted their child to eventually attend a tertiary institution. Given the drawbacks of attending a hearing school, they did not want to risk their child’s chances, so they took the Department of Basic Education to court. After the case was settled out of court, SASL was implemented as an exit-level Home Language subject in Deaf schools in 2013.

This year, the draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill was published to give the Deaf community what they have been fighting for over so many years – official recognition of SASL. But will this recognition contribute to the inclusion of the South African Deaf community in the mainly hearing world? Currently, the legal protection of the Deaf in South Africa is under the umbrella of disability. This view is vested in the pathological perception of deafness, which is the prevailing understanding of the hearing world. To build an inclusive society, it is necessary to look beyond the medical aspect of ‘disabled’ and see the use of SASL as a marker of another culture, a view propagated by the socio-cultural approach to deafness. There is a lot that hearing people do not know or understand about the Deaf community and their experiences. However, we can acknowledge this group of people as part of our already diverse country by being open to learning more and celebrating their successes.

As individuals, we can take time to determine how we ourselves could change to promote inclusion, rather than expecting people to change to fit into our own view of society.

News Archive

Kovsies celebrate ‘model of humanity’

2013-07-19

Zelda la Grange
Photo: Sonia Small
19 July 2013

Video clip (YouTube)

Photo gallery
UFS Mandela Day Pledge (pdf)
Zelda la Grange speech (pdf)

The University of the Free State (UFS) joined people around the globe in celebration of the fourth annual Nelson Mandela Day. Long-time Madiba confidant, Zelda la Grange, delivered the main address, inspiring the crowd with anecdotes gleaned from her intimate knowledge of the former president.

La Grange felt that the UFS as an institution can contribute greatly towards the upliftment of South African society.

“Your university has become what we hope for in South Africa – a transformed society whose purpose serves the greater good of humanity. Embrace and nurture what you have here under the leadership of Prof Jansen and his team. And influence society consciously, every day, in the same way as Madiba did for every day of the 67 years of his activism, and beyond.”

As UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen, aptly put it, the Kovsie celebrations aim to give thanks to Madiba as a ‘model of humanity’ and for what he has done for all South Africans.

Prof Jansen stressed that the importance of Mandela Day cannot be overstated.

"I think it is incredibly important because the real legacy of Nelson Mandela is that of a man who gave everything he had for the struggle to gain our freedom, our democracy and that we can get along as just human beings and not as a skin colour, a religion or as strangers," he said.

Events began with a clean-up operation by UFS volunteers, Zelda la Grange and the Bikers for Mandela Day, the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality and other sponsors. The team cleaned areas in Heidedal and Manguang before returning to the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Kicking off the campus section of the programme, UFS staff and students formed a ‘human chain’ on the Red Square as part of a wider initiative which was the brainchild of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – who was the main attraction of the 2012 Mandela Day activities at Kovsies.

The assembled ‘chain’ recited the UFS Mandela Day pledge, whilst snaking around the Red Square and the gardens surrounding the Main Building, before offering interfaith prayers to Madiba in honour of the 67 minutes of selflessness epitomised by Nelson Mandela Day.

To conclude the first part of the celebrations, the No Student Hungry campaign’s patrons, Mrs Grace Jansen and Dr Carin Buys, released symbolic doves and joined the chain in the singing of the national anthem.

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, said that the symbolic chain showed the UFS community’s aim to “join together as a country and show our commitment to our people” on the special day.

Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Executive Mayor, Thabo Manyoni, together with Prof Jansen, welcomed UFS staff and students to the main festivities which centred around a coin-laying ceremony in front of the Main Building. All proceeds of the coin laying are to be contributed towards the NSH. More than R83 000 was raised through the coin-laying ceremony and donations, more than double the amount of 2012.

The jubilant crowd was edged on by OFM presenter, Johrné van Huyssteen, who offered to preside as master of ceremonies free of charge as part of his 67 minutes.

Manyoni stressed that Mandela Day is a celebration and should be regarded as a joyous occasion. He said that Madiba’s ability to take action and inspire change, is the foremost aspect of his legacy, one all South Africans should strive to emulate.

“We should all be the champions in the areas where we are. There can never be another Madiba, but we should all aim to be smaller, better Madibas,” he said.

Zelda la Grange emphasised the life-changing influence Madiba has had on her own life, as well as South Africa in general.

“Mandela Day is a call to action for individuals, for people everywhere, to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mr Mandela did. It is a day of service,” she said.

According to her, certain key characteristics are responsible for Madiba’s vast reverence throughout the world, principles everyone should try to emulate. She mentioned his principles, simplicity, honesty, integrity, discipline and respect for other people even when opinions differ, as the foremost of these qualities.

La Grange also stressed that the goodwill shown on Mandela Day should not be limited to one day in a year, but that we should all strive to live each day according to these principles.

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