Dr Zakeera Docrat
Nominee's Province:
Western Cape
Project Name/Description:
Docrat creates bridge between higher education and legal systems Dr Zakeera Docrat is a forensic linguist/ legal linguist, author and researcher. Presently, she is an Andrew W Mellon Foundation postdoctoral research fellow in forensic linguistics (language and law) at the University of the Western Cape, based in the Department of African Language Studies. Docrat was Rhodes University’s first postdoctoral research fellow in forensic linguistics (language and law), under the auspices of the NRF SARChI Chair in the Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education. She holds the following degrees: BA, BA Honours (cum laude), LLB, MA (cum laude) and a PhD; and was awarded full academic colours. In June 2021, Docrat published her first book titled A handbook on Legal Languages and the quest for linguistic equality in South Africa and beyond. The book is an adaptation of her PhD thesis. It is a first of its kind on the African continent focusing on the language of record and proceedings in South African courts in relation to African (Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria) and global (Australia,Belgium, Canada, India) case studies. She creates a linkage between the higher education and legal systems where linguistically competent LLB graduates are needed to transform the legal system. Docrat’s research is focussed on improving access to justice and ensuring justice is attainable for speakers of all eleven official languages. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature, focussing on the humanities, law and social sciences. She has also published widely in accredited national and international journals and books, and has penned opinion pieces in several press forums. Docrat has presented at international and national conferences, including The International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL) conferences in Portugal and Australia, and at the World Congress of African Linguists conference in Morocco. As an expert, she has been interviewed on national media. Her research has been referred to and referenced in judgments emanating from South African courts. Her research is currently before the United Nations Human Rights Committee as part of an applicant’s pleadings in a case concerning language rights. Docrat is a member of the IAFL, the African Languages Association of Southern Africa and vice chairperson of the Indigenous Languages Action Forum. She developed and co-lectured the first course module in African Forensic Linguistics at Rhodes University’s School of Languages and Literatures. Docrat was one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans (Justice and Law category) and received numerous awards, including most outstanding Master’s Thesis (African Languages Association of South Africa) and the Women in Science Award – Albertina Sisulu Doctoral Fellowship (Department of Science and Technology), recognising her outstanding academic and research ability.
