Cape Town – Stellenbosch University director of the Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management Vuyiseka Dubula- Majola has been announced a recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
She is one of 15 recipients from around the world presented with the prize by the foreign ministers of Germany and France.
Since 2016 this prize has been awarded every year to figures who have made an exceptional contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law in their country and at the international level.
Dubula-Majola completed two of her postgraduate qualifications at Stellenbosch University and became a lecturer at the Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management, and later its director. She herself was diagnosed with HIV/Aids in 2001.
“It is always humbling as an activist to get recognition. This award is a collective gratitude to those who speak truth to power.”
Dubula-Majola has also been included in the book A to Z of Amazing South African Women, a publication that honours the contribution of women to South Africa’s past, present and future.
Others in the book include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Thuli Madonsela and Caster Semenya.
In the book, Dubula-Majola is referred to as a heroine for our times - someone who has beaten all the odds and is still working actively to improve the situation.
“I welcome challenges. That is how we grow,” she said.
The dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Professor Ingrid Woolard, said she was delighted to see Dubula-Majola’s work recognised in this way.
“Vuyiseka is an exceptional role model to all of us - she is brave, passionate, dedicated, focused and yet humble. We congratulate her on this international recognition of her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of people living with HIV/Aids and working towards interventions that will reduce transmission.”
In their announcement, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian of France stated: “In this 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Germany and France have chosen to honour 15 individuals who have campaigned courageously to protect human rights.
“They also stand proxy for the many other human rights defenders whose efforts remain unrecognised and who are often subjected to great iniquities in their fight for justice.”