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IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
South African youth share their challenges and hopes
Aqeel Madhi. Image: Supplied Ahead of Youth Day on June 16, young South Africans shared the challenges faced by the youth and their thoughts on how far they believe we have come as a country, 31 years into democracy. Aqeel Madhi, 27, of uMhlanga, said the challenges faced by the youth were not new. 'Youth unemployment sits at 62.4% compared to the national rate of 32.9%. We are also dealing with gender-based violence (GBV) and what I believe is an under-discussed mental health crisis. Only 5% of our national health budget goes to mental healthcare.' Madhi, a machine learning engineer, said youth were not given opportunities to show what they could do. 'We are capable, energetic and willing. If we are truly the future, then every South African, every institution, and every level of government should be working with us to secure this country's future, not putting the burden solely on us.' Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Madhi said if the issues faced by the youth were not addressed, the consequences would be devastating. 'We will entrench intergenerational poverty transmission. Research consistently shows South Africa has among the world's lowest social mobility, with poor education quality being a major factor keeping families trapped in cycles of poverty. Failure to address these issues will also further erode our economy and increase crime and mental health problems. 'However, Ubuntu is what I love most about being South African, and it is our solution. Every person, institution, and government level must come together to fix this youth crisis which requires an emergency-level response,' he said. Irfaan Mangera. Image: Supplied Irfaan Mangera, 28, of Lenasia, said the youth faced an overwhelming set of crises. 'The most urgent being lack of access to quality education and skills training, youth unemployment, mental health challenges, systemic inequality, and political exclusion. 'Over 60% of young people are unemployed. GBV, food insecurity, and a failing education-to-employment pipeline are not just issues, they are symptoms of a broken system that is not listening to or investing in its youth meaningfully.' Mangera, a youth activist and human rights, strategy and campaigns consultant, said young people had always been the engine of change in South Africa. 'From the 1976 uprisings to #FeesMustFall and even now as advocates in their communities. We must continue to organise, conscientise, and mobilise collective and people's power. We also need to enter and transform institutions, from student councils to Parliament. 'The youth must also take up space not only in protest but in policy, public service, entrepreneurship, the arts, and community leadership. Our role is not to wait our turn; it is to lead differently and with values that are rooted in equality, dignity, respect and a commitment to constitutional democracy.' Mangera said if the challenges were not addressed with urgency, South Africa risked becoming a democracy in name only. 'Where our rights are not protected, and the elite of society continue to garner insurmountable privileges while the most vulnerable suffer the most inhumane conditions, the generation left behind will become a breeding ground for despair, violence, populism, and political instability. We will have failed our own Constitutional promise and betrayed the dreams of those who fought and sacrificed for our freedom. The cost will be borne not only by the poor but by the soul of the nation, which is becoming visible with each passing day.' He said while there had been constitutional and infrastructural gains since 1994, for millions of South Africans, particularly the youth, democracy had not delivered justice and inequality had grown. Abigail Haridew. Image: Supplied Abigail Haridew, 22, of Chatsworth, said youth unemployment remained a crisis. 'However, beyond this, lies a far more insidious issue: the erosion of hope. Many young South Africans, myself included, feel disillusioned by persistent inequality, political instability, and the unfulfilled promises of post-apartheid progress. 'When the pathways to personal growth and national contribution appear blocked or corrupted, the result is a generation that feels increasingly detached from civic engagement and national identity. This disengagement can manifest in mental health struggles, increased substance abuse, or migration in search of better opportunities abroad." Haridew, a third year student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, said young people had more power than they sometimes realised. 'While we face serious challenges from unemployment to inequality, we can't afford to sit back, and hope things change on their own. We need to take action in our own spaces, whether that means starting youth-led initiatives, raising awareness on social media, volunteering in our communities, or simply supporting each other through education and mentorship." She added that the government needed to take real action to support young people, not just make promises. 'We need better access to quality education and training that actually prepares us for jobs that exist in today's world. More support is needed for youth-owned businesses, internships, and programs that help us gain experience. Mental health services must be made more available, especially in schools and rural areas. 'Most importantly, the government needs to involve young people in decision-making because we know the problems. We live through them every day. If the government works with us and not just for us, we can create a future that gives all young South Africans a fair chance.' Bilqees Akoodie. Image: Supplied Bilqees Akoodie, 30, of Johannesburg, said youth faced structural unemployment, deepening both economic and spatial inequality, exclusion from decision-making and a failing public infrastructure. 'We carry the weight of historical injustice and the burden of a system that has failed to transform meaningfully post-apartheid. We are also the first digital generation, navigating both real-world exclusion and virtual visibility, without the material support to turn our ideas into impact. Meritocracy is undermined by networks of nepotism, tokenism, and bureaucratic gatekeeping. Racial quotas are not the root problem; unequal distribution of power and opportunity is.' Akoodie, a legal scholar and advocate for international justice, said the youth are not a demographic box. 'We are political actors, caregivers, innovators, and organisers. Our role is to transform and not just inherit this democracy. Youth-led activism is powerful, but it must also be sustainable, strategic, and policy-literate. We have to claim space not only in protest but in boardrooms, courtrooms, and parliaments without being co-opted or diluted.'
Global News
09-05-2025
- Global News
Inmate suffers bungled execution after firing squad misses target in South Carolina
A South Carolina death row inmate who died by firing squad in April — the second in five weeks in the state to be killed via that method — suffered a prolonged death after shooters missed their target, his lawyers said. Mikal Mahdi was killed last month by prison officials, but autopsy results, as well as photographs and documents obtained by The Guardian and analyzed by his legal team, indicated that executioners did not follow protocol and that Mahdi endured prolonged pain that outlasted the 10- to 15-second period of consciousness that is expected. Madhi's lawyers submitted their findings to the South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday. He received the death sentence in 2006 and was shot dead on April 11. Those killed by firing squad have a bullseye target placed over their chest, at which three executioners must aim from a distance of roughly 4.6 metres while witnesses are stationed behind a sheet of bulletproof glass. Story continues below advertisement Madhi gave no final statement and did not look to his right toward the nine witnesses in the room behind bulletproof glass and bars, according to an Associated Press reporter, who was also a witness. Before being shot, Madhi's sight was obscured by a hood; he took a few deep breaths during the 45 seconds between when the hood was put over his head and when the shots rang out. Mahdi, 42, cried out as the bullets hit him, and his arms flexed. A white target placed over his heart was pushed into the wound in his chest. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He groaned two more times about 45 seconds after that. His breaths continued for about 80 seconds before he appeared to take one final gasp. A doctor checked him for a little over a minute, and he was declared dead at 6:05 p.m., less than four minutes after the shots were fired. 2:29 U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad for 1st time in 15 years Madhi's death was the second by firing squad in just over a month in South Carolina. Brad Sigmon was put to death on March 7, marking the first firing squad-style execution in the U.S. in 15 years and the fourth since 1976. The others all occurred in Utah. Story continues below advertisement South Carolina state law requires inmates to decide how they will be executed, and Sigmon chose to be put to death by firing squad. A doctor examined him about a minute later and Sigmon was declared dead in approximately 90 seconds. His lawyer said he opted for this method because he was concerned about the use of lethal injections; recent post-mortem results indicated the use of higher-than-normal dosage amounts and medical complications in previously executed inmates. On Jan. 31, inmate Mario Bowman was administered double the typical lethal injection dose. Most states use five grams of a combination of chemicals, but Bowman was given 10 grams of pentobarbital. His autopsy revealed that he suffered from pulmonary edema, a collection of blood and fluid in the lungs. Similarly, the autopsy of Richard Moore, who was executed on Nov. 1, 2024, revealed he was administered the same dose of pentobarbital, delivered in two separate shots, 11 minutes apart. Though firing squad executions have recently made a resurgence in South Carolina, historically, the method was used to punish military mutinies and as a terror tactic in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Nonetheless, some South Carolina lawmakers see it as the quickest and most humane method, especially with the uncertainty in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Story continues below advertisement Meanwhile, in a statement, Mahdi's lawyer, assistant federal public defender David Weiss, called the execution a 'horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history, not in a civilized society.' Like Sigmon, Mahdi had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection, or the electric chair. 'Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils,' Weiss said. 'Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney,' he concluded. — With files from The Associated Press
