New ‘black bar’ will tackle white male domination in legal community
With 70 prospective members so far, Pabasa aims to ensure black and female advocates are briefed to argue cases involving commercial, tax and construction law
Some of SA’s leading advocates have announced their intention to take on white male supremacy in the legal community, by forming a bar association with a majority of black and female members. “We are unapologetically black and women orientated,” advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, one of the founding members of the Pan African Bar Association of SA (Pabasa) said at the voluntary association’s launch on Tuesday. “We are creating an atmosphere where being black and being a woman are the norm. We are creating an atmosphere where black people and women do not need to explain themselves; do not need to seek white male validation to be recognised.” Pabasa, which already has 70 prospective members, aims to ensure that black and female advocates are briefed to argue cases involving commercial, tax and construction law — areas that advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argues have been dominated by white males. This, he said, was because white partners in law firms were more inclined to brief white male junior...
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