Youth Day – June 16 2012

Jan Malatjie
Auxillary PRO

 

Simon Nkoli, a human rights and gay activist once said “In South Africa I am oppressed because I am black man, and I am oppressed because I am gay. So when I fight for my freedom I must fight against both oppressions.” In the context of the great diversity within LGBTIA youth, this statement still applies well to the multiple struggles encountered.

The Kaleidoscope Youth Network is a national umbrella organization representing 17 LGBTIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and asexual) students’ societies in universities across the Republic of South Africa.  Its membership has grown since its launch in 2007, with many young people taking on the fight to protect their rights as LGBTIA students.

In 1976 the youth of Soweto took to the street to protest against the apartheid government and fight for the human rights for all. Many lost their lives in the battle for the liberation of our country. June 16 commemorates those that dared to stand and fight against an unjust system so that we all could live in a democratic South Africa; we salute them and draw from the courage to continue the fight for liberty for all.

Thirty six years later in 2012, the youth of South Africa are still fighting for justice and to be protected from abuses. Thapelo Makhutle, a 24 year old gay activist from the Northern Cape was murdered because he lived openly as a gay man and Noxolo Nogwaza a lesbian who was killed in May 2011 is yet to receive justice.

Many LGBTIA youth still live in fear in their own communities, in the face of rapes and murders committed against lesbian women, gay men, transgender and intersex individuals. The fight is becoming increasingly intense and urgent. In May 2012, activists across South Africa called for the President to protect the rights of LGBTIA people by rejecting CONTRALESA’s proposal to redraft the Constitution. To remove the Constitutional protection of individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation would be to betray the incredible efforts of the individuals and organisations that ensured it got there in the first place.

Lethukuthula Blose the Chairperson of Shadows in the Rainbow, at Durban University of Technology in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Thuli Mathabela the Auxiliary National Vice Convener  of the Kaleidoscope Youth Network are amongst the LGBTIA young leaders that are advancing the struggle for human rightss.

“June the 16th means knowing that people fought for my rights and us as the youth are able to express who we are. It also means that I have the responsibility to preserve those rights and encourage other members of our youth to know what we stand for; the future of our country and to safeguard the rights that we've inherited,” Thuli Mathabela said.

There remain a lot to be done and and the struggle still continues to realize LGBTIA right in South African and the world. Lethukula Blose said that “we will eventually win the fight for equal rights all, for now the youth needs to affirm their stand whether LGBTIA or not.”

Aluta Continua

SA Trans people say no to radio celebrity at broadcast complaint tribunal!
 
We are not freaks, when is it ever ok to discuss people’s genitals on the radio?” said Adrienne Visser, a transgender women from Johannesburg. She was talking at a tribunal at the Broadcast Complaints Commission on 5 May 2012.
 
Her complaint was directed at Highveld stereo DJ Anele, who recently called transwoman Jenna Talackova (Ms Universe  pageant contestant),  an “it” and  mused about Jenna’s genitals on air.
 
 “….well good luck and balls to the wall to it”  Anele said as the insert went to a cheerful 94.7 Highveld stereo jingle.There was a large contingent of trans people to support complainant Adrienne Visser, including transgender activists and two representatives from human rights organisations devoted to transgender activism.
Ms Visser earnestly told her side of the story and defended Jenna Talackova’s gender identity. She highlighted the reality that research indicates high rates of homicide of transgender women due to stigma. She compared her own life to Jenna’s and reminded the Highveld stereo representative that she too was part of the Highveld stereo community. It was hurtful and alarming to be represented in such a manner. Millions of Highveld listeners heard the dehumanising comments regarding the Ms Universe contestant, which adds to the misinformation  and  ignorance surrounding this social reality.
 
Robert Hamblin,  artist and transgender activist from Cape Town, contextualised the discussion in the local South African milieu. He explained to the panel that the typical transgender person in South Africa is highly vulnerable. Due to a lack of access to health care, local trans people are highly visible and subject to targeting especially in socio economic challenged communities, which makes up the bulk of South African society.
 
 South African trans people often live in conditions of poverty becausetheir gender presentation is a challenge to society and they are thus excluded from opportunities to thrive.The BCCSA panel questioned Mr Hamblin's position that disenfranchised youth respond with violence to trans people in townships.
 
Craig Matu, transman and transgender activist from Soweto,who is a board member of transgender human rights organisation, Transgender Intersex Africa, confirmed that Anele's ignorant statement validates the perception that gender is
located in the genitals. He stated that this puts trans people at risk.  If a popular DJ jests about transgender people being searched to examine their genitals, it positions this as acceptable behaviour.
The message sent out is that transpeople lack human qualities, and that it is permissible to be violent towards them.
 
Prominent gender activist Sbu Keswa, who is the advocacy manager for Gender DynamiX, a transgender organisation in Cape Town, was visibly angry. He spoke of people in townships being killed for variant gender expression and called for an acknowledgement that hate crimes on LGBTI people were not necessarily about their sexual orientation, but about gender variant expression.The representative from Prime Media responded by stating that the radio station had approached Anele immediately upon receiving the BCCSA complaint.  Prime Media acknowledge that the statements were made in bad taste and are in conflict with the radio station’s values. The representative said that Anele has not yet publicly apologised because it is company policy to follow due legal process and abide by the recommendations of the BCCSA and the outcome of the tribunal.  The radio station denies that the comments amount to hate speech, and strongly disagreed with the arguments from the transgender activists on this point. Members on the panel of the commission reflected on other cases and enquired from the trans people present what outcome they would want from the tribunal. The panel were reluctant to label the statement as hate speech, as they were unsure that the utterances met the legal standard definition of incitement to violence. Transgender participants expressed that they wanted an apology and an opportunity for right of reply on Anele's show, in order to educate the public about real lives of trans people in South Africa, and destabilise mythology around this.
Transman Sbu Keswa stated that the apology from Prime Media should be broadcast to the public, and not limited to those present in the board room or those privy to the response document that Prime Media submitted to the commission.
 
The Prime Media representative assured the BCC that there was a possibility that this could happen and said that she would propose this to the radio station.
 
The BCC chairman engaged earnestly with the topic, and agreed that the processes of the BCCSA are transparent and they will release judgment that takes all positions into account. He went as far as to make jokes about the term 'it', and was very responsive to the concerns of the trans activists present.
 
For more information please contact Adrienne Visser at [email protected]

9th May 2012

Have they not heard? The people shall govern!

 

Statement of the Joint Working Group: The Congress of Traditional Leaders challenge of the clause in the South African Constitution that protects sexual orientation

The Joint Working Group, which represents the formal sector of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Community in South Africa, writes in protest of the suggested changes to the Constitution as proposed by the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa). The JWG also calls on the ANC to do more than just distance itself from the statements of ANC MP Patekile Holomisa who, coincidentally, not only chairs Contralesa, but is also the Chair of the Constitutional Review Committee, which considers all public proposals for amendments to the Constitution.

In 2011, the House of Traditional Leaders submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Review Committee of the National Assembly to amend Section 9 of the Constitution, which protects many minorities from unfair discrimination, specifically targeting the clause that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Why now has this committee considered a proposal that will erode the rights of a significant percentage of the population? And referred it to the political parties for review? This has never happened before. A recent Die Burger report notes that Holomisa has confirmed that in 17 years the Constitutional Review Committee has rejected all public proposals for amendments to the Constitution.

This is not the only assault planned on the Constitution by Conrtralesa using the vague arguments of ‘tradition’ and ‘culture’.  The proposed Traditional Courts Bill too, is an unconscionable effort to erode the rights of South African citizens, particularly women. This Bill would centralise executive, administrative and judicial powers in one person. The constitutionality of certain sections of this proposed Bill are already being challenged by civil society.

The Daily Dispatch reports that the Contralesa leader in the Eastern Cape, Xolile Ndevu, has denied the existence of LGBTIQ people. In his jumbled defence of the Traditional Courts Bill he has said that gays and lesbians have nothing to fear from the traditional courts as traditional leaders want nothing to do with homosexuality.

Where is the sense in this when increasing levels of gender-based violence, particularly against black lesbians and transgender people, has resulted in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development setting up a government-led task team to investigate these crimes and how they are dealt within the criminal justice system.

In the first instance, Holomisa should have recused himself from the Constitutional Review Committee. As he did not, the process is already flawed. Regardless, it continues apace. We are dealing with Conservatives, who resist change, and use the excuse of culture and tradition to perpetuate their sexist, misogynist, classist, and patriarchal agenda.

We call on the Government to immediately intervene and put an end to this process

For further enquiries contact:

Jayne Arnott

Triangle Project

021 448 3812

[email protected]

On behalf of the JWG

The Kaleidoscope Youth Network commemorated International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia nationally through several initiatives. In the Eastern Cape, OUTRhodes had a kiss-in protest, and a NOH8 campaign. In the Western Cape, LoudEnuf engaged staff and students with an IDAHO event. In Gauteng, ACTIVATE and Liberati engaged with their campus constituents using skills learnt in a 2011 Art For Advocacy workshop to bring awareness to the marginalisation of LGBTIA students on campus.

See the project profiled on our National Projects page

Links:
The Times Newspaper
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/05/16/gay-rights-students-march
IDAHO site:
http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/South-Africa-announces-program-the,1526

Below is the KYN national IDAHO poster, designed by Anzio Jacobs