Navi Pillay: The bus driver’s daughter who refused to back down

In a remarkable story from South Africa, Navi Pillay, the 85-year-old daughter of a bus driver, has become the first South African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Clairwood in 1941, Pillay grew up in a poor Tamil family and faced significant discrimination under apartheid, including not being allowed to enter a courtroom through the front door.

Despite these challenges, she persevered and became the first woman of colour to open her own law practice in Natal, defending activists labeled as terrorists by the apartheid regime. Her legal battles, such as winning a case for political prisoners on Robben Island and exposing torture, highlighted the importance of human rights beyond abstract concepts.

After 1994, she became the first woman of colour to serve as a judge of the High Court and later served as President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she helped change international law by recognizing rape as an act of genocide. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, Pillay was a vocal critic of human rights abuses worldwide, including in Syria and North Korea.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded her the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to defend international law and institutions, which are under attack in a rising number of conflicts. This award to Pillay serves as a reminder of the importance of the rule of law and the role of law in protecting the weak, a message that resonates with many South Africans who feel the Constitution no longer protects them.