HRC in KZN to engage education and religious bodies on Shembe rights

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is holding a public engagement in Durban with members of the Nazareth Baptist Church and the community regarding the right to freedom of religion. 

The engagement, being held at the commission's office in Durban, comes after a south coast school principal's directive to followers of the church, also known as the Shembe church, were asked to cut their hair.

Earlier this month, the commission invited representatives from the church, department of education, principals, chairpersons of school governing bodies, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities and other stakeholders to the dialogue.

“This engagement emanates from the number of complaints the commission receives relating to learners who belong to the Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe religion) being forced to cut their hair. This practice/request is against the religious and cultural practices of their religion and is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution,” said the commission. 

The commission said it has previously resolved these complaints by engaging directly with the relevant schools.

The commission said it was continuing to receive complaints. 

Recently, the commission said it had been alerted through various media articles and social media platforms about a school where a principal was forced to withdraw a letter telling pupils who are members of the Nazareth Baptist (Shembe) church to cut their hair. 

The letter, dated February 3, was issued by the principal of Esizibeni Sivananda Vaswani Comprehensive High School in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban. 

The principal gave an ultimatum to pupils with Afro hair to cut it before returning to school the following Monday.

“It is for this reason that the commission requests your (stakeholders, church, department and so on) attendance and participation at the above-mentioned engagement to discuss, raise awareness and educate about the rights to freedom of religion and to practice one's culture,” said the commission. 

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