“For the Women We’ve Lost”: Forensic Pathologist Honours GBV Victims at Graduation

• Dr Yaseen Bismilla, a 34-year-old forensic pathologist with nearly 250,000 TikTok followers, walked across the stage to collect his Master's degree
• Bismilla styled his hair in blue braids as a deliberate tribute to women lost to gender-based violence in South Africa
• South Africans praised his dedication to giving victims a voice through science and his mission to serve justice

Dr Yaseen Bismilla, a 34-year-old South African forensic pathologist, graduated with a Master's degree in Forensic Pathology on 18 September 2026. The moment was captured on stage at a university graduation ceremony, with Bismilla in full academic regalia, his hair styled in distinctive blue braids.

The braids were not simply a style choice. Bismilla explained that he wore them as a personal act of remembrance for the women lost to gender-based violence, for families still searching for answers, and for all those silenced by crime in South Africa. His caption read:

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"For the lives lost. For the women we've lost. For the families seeking answers."

A career built on speaking for the dead

Bismilla has built a following of nearly 250,000 on TikTok by pulling back the curtain on forensic pathology, a field most South Africans rarely engage with openly. Before specialising in forensic work, he spent time at a Thuthuzela Care Centre treating trauma survivors. The emotional weight of that environment eventually led him towards pathology, where, as he describes it, the human body becomes evidence and science becomes a tool for justice.

He views his role as giving victims a voice in courtrooms, offering closure to grieving families, and ensuring that evidence from the autopsy table is never wasted. To protect his own well-being, he relies on therapy, professional debriefing, and firm personal boundaries outside the mortuary.

Watch Dr Yaseen Bismilla graduate and share his tribute to GBV victims here.

Mzansi celebrates Dr Bismilla's achievement

South Africans flooded the comments on his Instagram page with pride and gratitude:

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@salm.ahssain said:

"Yoh yoh salaams Dr Yaseen, you make us women so proud to know there is a male that got the females' backs. May Allah grant you even more successful ventures, and may you be blessed abundantly for your efforts."

@dessieyas shared:

"Well done, Dr Yaseen Bismilla. You understood exactly what our country needed. May you continue to go from strength to strength."

@nailed_musa added:

"Congratulations, Dr Thank you for being the voice of the voiceless."

@raeesahcajee wrote:

"I can see the pride and joy in your face, and you really and truly deserve to be so proud of yourself and this achievement. Mashallah. May you have many more and continue to make waves."

@ms_mzinzi called him:

"Our favourite pathologist."

@mel_die_storieverteller said:

"Congrats, thank you for your passion and service and sharing some moments with us."

More on SA graduation moments

• Briefly News recently reported on Jacob Zuma cheering on his granddaughter as she graduated from UKZN with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree.
• A law graduate honoured his two late grandmothers with a custom-designed tie at his graduation ceremony.
• A UKZN engineering graduate built an AI system that translates South African Sign Language into speech in real time.

Source: Briefly News