Dr Yaseen Bismillah walks into the Debrief Lab’s vibrant and with warm personality. To most, forensic pathology sounds like a world of serious, nerdy figures dissecting in sterile quiet environments. Yaseen is none of that. In South Africa’s labs and mortuaries, he has spent a decade investigating unnatural deaths, most of them the result of gender-based violence. On TikTok, he distills this grim reality into videos that educate, inspire, and sometimes make you laugh ; a rare combination in a field defined by tragedy.
“We have one of the highest femicide rates in the world,” he says. “I see it daily on our autopsy table. Almost every second day, there is a young woman who has been killed by an intimate partner. It’s a huge burden. I’ve dedicated my life to this. I’ve done a master’s over a ten-year study on what kills women in the mortuary I work in.”
For Yaseen, forensic pathology isn’t glamorous. “That’s the biggest misconception. This work is a calling. It’s not as flashy as TV makes it seem.” He takes pride in the role his work plays beyond the lab. Every death certificate, every mortality statute, carries the fingerprints of forensic science. “We are perfectly placed to improve the justice system and give feedback to the government and policymakers,” he explains. “I pride myself on being in that position.”
And yet, he doesn’t just dwell on the darkness. Social media has become his platform to inspire curious minds. “I try to educate through humor. I want to inspire young doctors, young minds that are unsure but now have been exposed to this side of medicine. I hope social media is doing that.”
For Yaseen, the drive is simple: curiosity. “If you have an inquisitive mind, especially when it comes to criminology, and there’s a ‘hmm’ that keeps you awake at night, let that drive you into any forensic field. Medicine has a beautiful alternative side beyond saving lives.”
Underneath the lab coat is a passionate researcher and educator, quietly reminding us that justice is built by many hands, often in places we will never see.
