Mabel Jansen (judge)

Mabel Jansen is a South African former judge and advocate. She was appointed as a judge of the South Gauteng High Court in 2013 and resigned in 2017. Quotes “I believe I could contribute to a large extent, because in maintaining the position that I did in actually fighting apartheid, because I started off in 1984, I demonstrated that one can accomplish something against great odds and it was not easy. It was a difficult process for me and I saw all the different cases that we went through and as a result of that, I believe I know what hardship means. I know what it is to be in a disadvantaged position.” News24 “The transformation basically is that we should try and reach the goals and the objects of the Constitution and in doing so, we must address a lot of issues such as access to courts, monetary matters and the like. I wrote in one of my judgments that I submitted ... to that effect, and in general just to get to a point where the disadvantaged are in exactly the position of the advantaged and we can say that we are in an African Renaissance period, because we are actually giving effect to the goals of the Constitution and we should be working thereto.” News24 “I believe that one should of course be impartial. One must try and see to it that one addressed what one believes are wrongs, if one can... One can bring about change without going beyond the ambit of the Constitution, because I believe as [former] Justice [Laurie] Ackermann said, one can be very adventurous, which is wrong, and one can be very timid, which is also wrong, but one should strive to be more adventurous and that is one thing that I have done throughout my legal career.” News24 “It wasn’t easy and everybody, all the judges at that point in time said to me, you know, you should go back. I actually had judges yelling and shouting at me and telling me that I should go back to the kitchen and look after my children and had they not done so, maybe I would have gone back to my home, but because they made it difficult for me, I decided that I would show them that I am actually capable as a woman to maintain myself and build up a practice.” News24 “I’ve never felt like a princess. I was the Raggedy Ann of the legal profession for many, many years. I had to battle, really battle to make it. I cannot even begin to explain what an uphill battle it was.” News24 External links Category:South African women Category:South African judges Category:Women judges Category:Living people