Abstract

While South Africa has seen important advances in the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE), about 3.2 million children still lack access to any programme. Problems of access and quality are most pronounced in the poorest communities. Even before Covid-19 forced many providers to close, these programmes were overcrowded, with poor infrastructure, and an under-paid and under-qualified workforce. ECCE is crucial for a child’s development, meaning that these inequalities are amplified in school and later life. This has knock-on effects for caregivers, particularly women, and their ability to access quality work. This article argues that the right to equality can be mobilised both in relation to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and international law to address these disparities. By using a framework of substantive equality, we conclude that poverty, gender and race are potential grounds for discrimination both directly and indirectly. We further propose that resource-based justifications for limiting this right are unacceptable when budgets permit unequal resource distribution and contravene a government’s positive duty to fulfil the right to equality.

摘要

尽管南非在提供幼儿保育和教育 (ECCE) 方面取得了重大进展，但仍有约 320 万儿童无法获得任何计划。获取和质量问题在最贫困的社区最为明显。甚至在 Covid-19 迫使许多提供商关闭之前，这些项目就已经人满为患，基础设施落后，劳动力工资低且资质不足。幼儿保育和教育对于儿童的发展至关重要，这意味着这些不平等在学校和以后的生活中会加剧。这对护理人员（尤其是女性）以及他们获得高质量工作的能力产生了连锁反应。本文认为，可以根据 1996 年南非共和国宪法和国际法动员平等权来解决这些差异。通过使用实质性平等的框架，我们得出结论，贫困、性别和种族是直接和间接歧视的潜在理由。我们进一步提出，当预算允许不平等的资源分配并违反政府履行平等权的积极义务时，基于资源的理由限制这一权利是不可接受的。