Everything is interconnected, the way society is structured and what adults say to you.
Meaning
Pillay reflected in a 2016 interview on how her childhood under apartheid shaped her. She saw that personal limits often come from social structures and the messages absorbed from adults. Practically, it invites you to examine which inherited beliefs hold you back, and to choose differently when speaking to young people.
Source: Interview with Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi, Lacuna.org (2016)
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About the author
Navanethem Pillay is a South African jurist who served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and who won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
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