Special Issue on Disability: Introduction

The inspiration for this SAJHR Special Issue can be found in two significant developments which are historically parallel and complement each another in the sphere of equality jurisprudence. The first is the development of a jurisprudence of substantive and transformative equality under the South African Constitution by the Constitutional Court in the post-apartheid era. The hallmark of substantive equality has been its departure from formal equality and its embrace of inclusion, difference and diversity. Yet, although the Constitutional Court has had occasion to apply substantive equality to many protected groups, others, such as disabled people, still await their turn. This Special Issue seeks to fill this gap by providing a forum in which to tease out some of the equality issues that obtain in disability.