Zambia’s LGBTQIA+ activists battle softly-softly
The country’s discriminatory laws and societal attitudes towards queer people mean each bit of help they do receive requires caution, patience and a network of sympathetic friends.
Stories by: Carl Collison
DRC queer rights activist forced to go into hiding
The Congolese advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights has been living in fear after spurious charges of ‘promoting homosexuality’ led the police to her door.
A sangoma campaigns to protect intersex newborns
A Johannesburg healer and birth attendant fights tirelessly to change the way communities perceive intersex babies, who are sometimes strangled after they are born.
Transgender refugees train their eyes on the future
With employment opportunities especially scarce for transgender and gender-diverse refugees and migrants, a Johannesburg skills development programme equips them with versatility and hope.
Thandiswa Mazwai pens a letter of love to Azania
Admittedly pessimistic and disillusioned by the many ills in South African society, the influential singer has nevertheless resolved to fight for the country she wants.
Poet Primrose Mrwebi’s humanism remembered
South Africa’s creative and activist communities are mourning the death of the poet and gender rights activist by highlighting the lessons she imparted when she was still alive.
Outcry as LGBTQIA+ people excluded from Census 2022
Queer rights activists push for more inclusive surveys as Statistics South Africa comes under fire for conflating gender and sex in the major census it conducts every 10 years.
Holding state healthcare discrimination accountable
A study by organisations representing people living with HIV exposes deep-rooted prejudice against ‘key populations’ by healthcare workers at South Africa’s state facilities.
Finding belonging at SA’s new queer shelter
The mother and daughter behind the newly opened haven for LGBTQIA+ people in Ekurhuleni have created a sanctuary for those seeking a sense of home.
Queer migrants find their spiritual sanctuary
Behind a book that highlights how important their faith is for LGBTQIA+ migrants, refugees and asylum seekers is a very special ministry in the heart of Johannesburg.
‘I am Samuel’, an African love story against all odds
The makers of I Am Samuel about a daring relationship in a queerphobic society, went to extraordinary lengths to let their project see the light. Their government is not impressed.
The hopes and dreams of Africa’s queer activists
A recently released collection of stories by queer rights defenders across sub-Saharan Africa offers an intimate, hopeful look into their personal and political struggles and victories.
Uganda’s bill a double punishment for trans folk
The Sexual Offences Bill has dealt many of the country’s transgender sex workers a further blow, but activists are determined to prevent it from becoming law.
In hiding, Ghana’s queer activists keep up the fight
Despite having to flee after the state raided their offices, members of LGBT+ Rights Ghana vow to continue to work for legal recognition in a country pushing for even more repressive laws.
The faithful find humanity in Kenya’s queer folk
Viewed as ‘demonic and bedevilled’ by many, queer people across Kenya’s largely conservative coastal region are finding acceptance among a small group of religious leaders.
Queer refugees in Kenya’s Block 13 pray for safety
Faced with regular violent attacks and little hope of relocation to a safer place, LGBTQIA+ residents of the Kakuma Refugee Camp feel abandoned by the UNHCR.
‘Pocket Queerpedia’ is by and for South Africans
Despite the challenges in translating and defining queer terms into isiXhosa and Afrikaans, the team behind the book plan to publish it in even more South African languages.
Mourning the loss of social justice giant Mosane
The death of HIV/Aids community organiser Andrew Mosane – whose life taught many valuable and sometimes difficult lessons – has left activists in shock.
Proposed identity law changes ‘send a strong message’
Queer rights activists welcome the suggested amendments, which could see the ID number format change, as a sign of inclusion despite concerns over a potential ‘third gender’ category.
Queer activist Bev Ditsie amplifies her voice
Twenty-five years after her historic address at the United Nations, the South African rights icon and filmmaker celebrates the event with an insightful documentary.
‘So where is our land? Where is the space for us?’
The occupation of a Camps Bay mansion by a black queer collective has divided opinion nationally. But can #WeSeeYou offer some hope for Cape Town’s marginalised black queer folk?