Big lady sues over insult and wins fat payout of R50 000
The manager of Thulamela Municipality, Makonde Mathivha, has been ordered to pay R50 000 to a woman who claims she was insulted and arrested “unlawfully” by a traffic officer who ejected her from a taxi.
The woman was allegedly told she was too fat to be in a taxi. The Thohoyandou high court has ordered the municipality to pay Lydia Tsanwani, of Tshituni, R50 000 in damages.
This was after she successfully sued the municipality, claiming she was discriminated against. The incident happened in 2002.
Tsanwani said she suffered trauma when the traffic officer insulted her in front of other passengers. Tsanwani, a teacher at Tshivhidzo Masiagwala Secondary School in Ngovhela, said through her lawyer, Philip Sebola, that she was singled out as a “non-existing person or disabled person”.
She was returning from attending a wedding at the Thohoyandou Indoor Sports Centre when the officer, identified only as Mulanduli, stopped the taxi in which she was travelling.
He asked the driver why he had allowed a fat woman to occupy the front seat.
Tsanwani said she had felt insulted and the officer’s “irresponsible” utterances had caused her stress.
“When he said those words to me I felt like I was not normal. “I felt like my weight was a disability. I was really humiliated,” Tsanwani said.
“I was stressed and started to try and lose weight as a result of the officer’s words. But I’ve come to realise that I too have rights.”
For the rest of this story from Sowetan Online, go here.
NVDL: Ummm... The fact of the matter is that this woman is extremely overweight (there's a picture on the website, have a look here), even, extremely obese. It is crazy that it is not only a health risk to be so overweight, but to fine someone else for reminding her of this...Jeepers! I know someone - a relative - who was overweight she got angry when you hinted at the fact:
"If you don't love me the way I am..."
She then got more and more overweight, and today she is clearly obese. How it works is you first need to love yourself, and if, and it is a giant overweight IF - if you love and respect yourself - you wouldn't let yourself balloon out of proportion, allow yourself to be uncomfortable day-in and day out. Should we not discriminate - in the lighter sense of the word (raise eyebrows, frown, snigger etc) - at people who ignore what is obvious about themselves. Being excessively overweight is dumb: it's unattractive, uncomfortable, unhealthy. So why tolerate it?
I cycle and am disgusted that I am 5-10kg heavier than I could/should be. I mean it. I am disgusted, angry and impatient to change that fact. When I go downhill I fly by the other lighter riders. On the climbs, I struggle to keep up. Why? Because I am fat and heavier because of it. I'm dealing with it. I'm doing something about it. I'm getting up early in the morning and lugging my fat arse out of bed, off the coach, into the world. It requires effort and sweat. KOO KOO. Fat people: Grow up and Get real!
