102 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal differentiation that was included in the circular; whether the differentiation is an unfair discrimination; and in case the differentiation is an unfair discrimination, whether it can be justified under section 36 of the Constitution.37 At the centre of the second question is the need to secure dignity for all. In this question the court investigates the impact of the discrimination on the plaintiff and the social group(s) to which the plaintiff belongs. In assessing the impact, the following factors are paramount: (a) What is the position of the complainant in society and the extent to which the complainant belongs to a group that has been the victim of disadvantage or exclusion in the past; the nature of the provision or power and the purpose it seeks to achieve, including consideration whether the provision or power is intended to achieve a worthy and important social goal; and (c) the extent to which the provision or power has affected the rights or interests of the complainant and whether it has caused an impairment of the fundamental human dignity of the complainant in a comparably serious manner.38 In the case under investigation, the second stage enquiry reveals that visually impaired persons are victims of unfair discrimination for they are in a weak position; belong to a group that is generally the victim of exclusion and disadvantage; and the provision or power had affected their rights or interests and violated their fundamental human dignity. Consequently, the court in Zimbabwe was correct in pronouncing the declaratory order condemning the action of ZIMSTATS as discriminatory. This decision was also in line with the Hugo judgment in which the court held: “The prohibition on unfair discrimination in the interim Constitution seeks not only to avoid discrimination against people who are members of disadvantaged groups. It seeks more than that. At the heart of the prohibition of unfair discrimination lies recognition that the purpose of our new constitutional and democratic order is the establishment of a society in which all human beings will be accorded equal dignity and respect regardless of their membership of particular groups. 37 For more on this case see Charles Ngwena ‘Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability v Government of the Republic of South Africa: A case study of contradictions in inclusive education’ in African Disability Rights Yearbook 2013, pp.139-164. 38 Harksen v Lane NO and Others paras. 51-53.