Are we really free?
South Africa recently celebrated its twenty-four years anniversary of Democratic Freedom on the 27th of April. This day is celebrated as a result of the democratic freedom from centuries of an apartheid system whereby black people did not have the right to vote in national and local elections. The other marginalised racial groups such as indians and mixed races had limited voting rights. It was until 27 April 1994 on the first democratic elections whereby all South Africans across all racial backgrounds had the right to vote for a political party of their choice.
Twenty-four years into democracy and a free South Africa, many South Africans may still appreciate their democratic rights to vote however lives of South Africans have only improved to that level but are they free? Therefore the freedom to cast votes for Democratic elections should not be the only determining factor of citizens' freedom and should not be regarded as the end goal or the ultimate goal for any Democratic society.
Holistic look at freedom
In this article we look at the subject of Freedom holistically not only one sided. After all the celebrations for a free and Democratic state, citizens still have a reality that they face everyday of their lives besides having the freedom to vote.
The reality is that the citizens of most of democratically ‘free’ countries do not enjoy the promises of a democratic state, this is especially the reality in most underdeveloped and developing countries. There is still no economic freedom, free education, clean water and sanitation, just to mention a few. Freedom has many layers however in my own opinion the following should be amongst indicators of the true essence of freedom.
Freedom of Expression: freedom of speech
Freedom of expression has many forms i.e the freedom to express one’s opinion or ideas in an environment or society that embraces individuals citizens' opinions without fear of discrimination or intimidation considering one takes responsibility for their words. Unfortunately this is not the case with many so called free and democratic countries as citizens are still limited and afraid to express their opinions as a result of governments that are not open to any criticism whatsoever. The media in most of these countries is still limited in terms of what should be broadcasted or published because of the fear of exposure of corrupt leaders and government malpractices. In some countries this is even worse whereby citizens are not allowed to mention the president of their country on social media as it may lead to punishment. Are we really free?
Freedom of Sexuality
The freedom to express one’s sexuality especially the type of sexuality which is ‘unusual' in a particular society is still a mayhem in most of underdeveloped or developing countries in Africa. Most of these countries are reluctant to legalise homosexuality. Homophobia is in fact acceptable where homesexuality is still stigmatised in this day and age because such people who perpetuate this stigma are mostly not willing to accept homosexuals in society. This reluctance to be open and accept others is caused by the legislature in the particular country which mostly excludes homosexuality in that societal values and norms are shaped by a country’s laws. In most african countries for example, it is a taboo for one to be homosexual to such a point whereby homosexuals get attacked by certain homophobic community members who do not want to accept that there are such people in their society. True essence of freedom would emanate from an open-minded society which educates itself about such similar issues so that it makes better and informed decisions and also behave courteously towards one another. Mental freedom is the beginning of all freedoms, just as Bob Marley said:
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.”
Are we really free?
Self-Expression through clothing
This form of expression usually has too many unnecessary restrictions focused on women and this is the case in most societies around the world not only African societies. The way the attention is focused on women more, you would swear it is a crime to be a woman. Most people are still not receptive of different ways people dress. They only accept what is known or what is 'normal’ to them and have fear of the unknown. Wearing a short dress or skirts still causes negative attention in most societies but men can wear shorts and this is okay! For women to freely dress in the way they wish to, they first have to consider the environment they are in otherwise they get called all sort of names. This is absolutely ridiculous and degrading to women. African societies and some of societies that are judgemental on others' choice of clothing should really leave such mentality behind. It is a violation of human rights.
Are we really free?
Freedom to own belief system
Most of our biggest problems and wars in the world today are caused by lack of acceptance of each other’s belief system. In fact a lot of lives in history were lost because of religious wars than any other reason. Some people still feel it necessary to impose their religions or belief systems on others. There is no tolerance or respect others’ belief systems even when it does not negatively affect our lives. How has anyone’s religion which is different from yours ever affected you? We forget that even in our differences there are certain things that we will always have in common, our important basic needs as human beings; food, shelter, economic freedom etc. but instead we find a reason to make our differences divide us instead of learning from another. The world would be a better place if we embraced each other, set ourselves free from mental slavery and explore the true essence of freedom.
What does freedom mean to you? Please share on the comments section below.
