The South African Judge Zakeria Yacoob

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When he was young, Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob never dreamed that he would be where he is today. He is of Indian origin, and was hereby considered a second class citizen under apartheid. Also, he was blind.

But as the country changed, so did the opportunities for people like Zak Yacoob. He fought apartheid, and challenged those who saw only his blindness. Today, he is a Justice on the country’s Constitutional Court — a court that was created after apartheid was dismantled in 1994 and the country’s first democratic Constitution was written.

The duty of that court is to define and defend a fundamental belief in human rights and non-discrimination. And, Yacoob believes, that if South Africa, a country tormented by a vicious racist history, can succeed in creating true equality, the rest of the world should be able to follow.

Guests:

Justice Zakeria Yacoob, Constitutional Court Judge in South Africa.