“You People Are Not Allowed to Have Babies”: The Fight for Justice After Forced Sterilisation

For over a decade, a silent trauma festered within South Africa’s healthcare system. Now, 104 women are breaking that silence, launching a formidable legal battle against the state for being forcibly or coercively sterilised between 2007 and 2023. Their stories are not just historical allegations; they are a damning indictment of systemic abuse, HIV-related stigma, and a failure of informed consent.

Spearheaded by Her Right Initiative (HRI), the case has been taken up by the international law firm DLA Piper. The legal team has already issued a letter of demand to the National Department of Health and is exploring avenues, including a potential class action lawsuit, to secure redress for the victims.

A Mountain of Legal Barriers

The path to justice is steep. A major hurdle is the law of prescription. As Professor Ann Strode of UKZN, a technical advisor to HRI, explains, none of the 104 women came forward within the legally required three-year period, a common consequence of trauma, fear, and delayed discovery of the procedure. “This is a significant legal barrier,” Strode admits.

However, the legal team is not backing down. They are building strategies with organisations like Wits University’s Centre for Applied Legal Studies, which has previously found ways to overcome such prescription challenges in cases of obstetric violence.

Beyond the courts, HRI is applying pressure on multiple fronts. They are lobbying Parliament’s health portfolio committee, pushing for the department to be held accountable and for urgent amendments to the Sterilisation Act of 1998 to embed ironclad consent protections. They are also engaging United Nations mechanisms to heighten international scrutiny on the South African government.

The Human Voice Behind the Case

The legal arguments are rooted in harrowing personal testimonies. In interviews, women like Sherly Mosothoane and Lukhanye Somthunzi have recounted moments of profound vulnerability being weaponised against them.

Mosothoane was told to sign papers while in active labour. Somthunzi was told by a doctor, “you people are not allowed to have babies anymore because you are going to die and leave orphans behind,” and was refused the chance to consult her family. Their stories point to a pattern where HIV status was used as a pretext to violate bodily autonomy.

The Department of Health, through spokesperson Foster Mohale, has denied issuing instructions to force sterilisation. This official denial starkly contrasts the collective voice of over a hundred women, setting the stage for a contentious legal showdown.

A Fight for More Than Compensation

This case is about more than financial compensation. It is a fight to overhaul a broken system. HRI hopes it will force mandatory, improved training for healthcare workers on genuine informed consent and spark legislative change to prevent future atrocities.

Professor Strode has called on the public to add their voice, urging people to write to the Minister of Health and the Portfolio Committee, demanding accountability.

For the 104 women, and potentially countless others still silent, this legal action is a long-awaited stand. It is a demand to be seen, heard, and for the state to answer for a practice that stripped them of a fundamental human right: the right to choose what happens to their own bodies. The journey through the courts will be long, but for the first time in years, the wheels of justice are finally beginning to turn.