busi anthonyclags final2003

Source: GALA archives

1996 Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution

‘The state may not unfairly discriminate against anyone on one or more of the following grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour,

sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.’

(Section 9 (3))

Bottom: Phumi Mtetwa, Simon Nkoli & Ian McKellen meet with

Nelson Mandela. 1995.

Letter from Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu in support of the inclusion of sexual orientation in the equality clause

HAPPILY EVER AFTER?

Zoliswa Nkonyana, murdered 04 February 2006

Sizakele Sigasa, murdered together with Salome Masooa, 07 July 2007

Comments from callers to a talk radio programme on gay and lesbian rights, 2007

Newspaper article from 1955 on Mkhumbane, an area of Durban

where public same-sex marriages took place between Zulu men from the late

1930s to the early 1960s.

Mines dancers thought to be posing with their male ‘wives’ in

early 20th century

“As to the practice of hlabonga [thigh sex] that you complain of as existing among the ninevites in gaol...that has always existed. Even when we were free on the hills south of Johannesburg some of us had women and others had young men for sexual purposes.”

Nongolza Mathebula, testimony to the director of prisons, 1912

Photograph of Gertie Williams and her family, 1956

Source: GALA archives

THE GALA ORAL HISTORY PROJEC TS

Source: GALA archives

Source: GALA archives

Nkunzi Nkabinde, researcher on the sangoma oral history project. GALA is publishing her

autobiography in August 2008.

ARE YOUR RIGHTS RESPECTED?

A quantitative study conducted by the Joint Working Group in 2004 found that discrimination experienced at school by lesbian, gay and bisexual people was widespread:

CONTACT US

Busi Kheswa:

busisiwe.kheswa@wits.ac.za

Anthony Manion:

anthony.manion@wits.ac.za