Nelson Mandela and Human Rights

As I am sure all of you know, South African president and revolutionary Nelson Mandela passed away this past Thursday, December 5, 2013. I believe that Nelson Mandela's life and his pursuits in the field of human rights are very relevant to our area of study. Mandela was one of the most proponent fighters against South Africa's apartheid regime that marginalized and disadvantaged all of South Africa's black population and instituted rule by the white minority. In the fight to secure human rights for the suffering blacks in South Africa, his own human rights were violated. Mandela faced beatings, torture, and a 27 year imprisonment for advocating against apartheid. The story of Mandela reminds me of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," in which Argentina, much like South Africa, had a very authoritarian and repressive system in place that undermined the human rights and personal freedoms of its its citizens. Those who threatened the regime in the novel, like Valentin and Molina, were targeted and abused by the government just like Mandela was. This led me to think about how personal freedoms and individual rights go hand in hand with having a more democratic state. Beyond South Africa, Mandela was a leader of human rights throughout the globe, and taught us the importance of fighting for human rights, as mentioned here by Think Progress. May the legacy of Mandela's life be championed through the generations, with a brighter world for human rights.