The synonym for "scourge" that best conveys Mandela's intended meaning in describing abuse and ignorance is "plague," as further explained below.
<h3>Why is "plague" the best option?</h3>
As stated in the question, all answer choices are possible synonyms for "scourge". However, one of them conveys Mandela's intended meaning better. We must keep in mind that Mandela is using "scourge" to talk about abuse and ignorance.
In that case, "plague" seems to be the best option. Abuse and ignorance are too big an issue to be expressed through lighter words such as "difficulty" or "disturbance." "Punishment" could be a possibility, but it simply does not go well with the context.
With the information above in mind, we can select "plague" as the correct answer for this question.
Learn more about synonyms here:
brainly.com/question/26105224
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