A civil society group has suggested a law that would make it a criminal offence to interfere with mothers who breastfeed in public. Normalise Public Breastfeeding In South Africa (NPBSA) — a group made up of about 700 female members — has submitted a draft proposal to health minister Aaron Motsoaledi. The bill, called the “Breastfeeding and Related Matters Bill”, proposes that anyone who deliberately interferes with or prevents a mother from breastfeeding a child in a public space should be liable to a fine of up to R10 000.

“We’re just attempting to make life easier for women who breastfeed,” explains NPBSA founding member Anel Olssen. “There’s nothing indecent about feeding your baby in public. We want to normalise it. The only way to normalise the practice is if people see it happen often enough.”

What are your thoughts on public breastfeeding? We hit the streets to find out.

Live from Parliament casts a youth lens on parliament and government, covering committees, policy-making, MPs, and the sitting of actual Parliament. Our team of youth journalists report Live from Parliament every week in partnership with the People’s Assembly and Making All Voices Count. The People’s Assembly connects people and their elected representatives. To stay in touch with your local MP, visit www.pa.org.za, follow them on Twitter @PeoplesAssem_SA or Facebook/PeoplesAssemblySA.

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