A must watch moving video of South African lesbian activists calling on President Zuma to stop the slaughter
By Melanie Nathan, July 05,2012.
Jacob Zuma, former vice president of South Africa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
South African Traditional Leaders, under the leadership of MP Patekile Holomisa, comprised of members of Parliament and tribal chieftains, impart license to violence with their current parliamentary discussions to revoke equality and protections for LGBTI South Africans. While they are doing this gays and lesbians are being slaughtered, by the day, like sacrificial beasts, in the LGBTI Gay and Lesbian killing field of South Africa. Surely it is no coincidence that the mode of murder includes the slitting of throats and mutilation of genitals? There is a tribal touch, a connection, to the hate expounded by the denigration of rights, as the Chiefs’ message “homosexuality is Un-African” which translates with a particular license: “Yes they are not people they are animals, go ahead and slaughter them, we say it is okay!”
In this video South African activists, led mostly by women who have themselves survived untold horrors of the violence of hate against lesbians, call out to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zume, to break his silence, in an unprecedented and courageous demand for action and justice.
The truth is that, for over 20 years, South Africa’s fully equal constitution has merely purported to protect LGBTI people from discrimination. But, citing the excuse of cultural context, it has done anything but protect gay, trans and intersex citizens from hate and harm. The ANC led South African government, with little resistance from other political parties, has failed to protect LGBTI people from the endemic brutality and violence, resulting from homophobia.
Like his predecessors, President Jacob Zuma’s government has done nothing to fight homophobia. And instead of tackling the cultural disdain, through its omission, its silence, and appointments of admitted homophobes to judiciary and ambassadorships, it may well be accused of the tacit endorsement of hate-based violence against sexual minorities.
Perhaps the recent hike in particularly brutal murders amongst lesbians, gays and transgender South Africans is no coincidence. For the past months the messaging of the Traditional Leaders against LGBT rights has been irresponsible. Member of Parliament Nkosi Patekile Holomisa, chairman of the Review Committee who is a member of the ANC, proclaimed: ‘The ANC knows that the great majority of South Africans do not want to promote or protect the rights of gays and lesbians.’
While the ANC leadership distanced itself from the remarks and has noted it does not agree with the revocation of the entrenched rights for LGBTI South Africans, absolutely no steps have been taken to change the paradigm.
The only thing that is UN-AFRICAN about this picture is the lack of love and compassion for fellow human beings – HOMOPHOBIA IS UN-AFRICAN. It is time for the Zuma administration to take charge and stop the killing.
This is a video message to Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa. This is a message to all National, Regional and International Human Rights and LGBTI Organisations. We need your solidarity and we need you to act decisively. the planned attacks on LGBTI persons in South Africa has increased. This past weekend, 4 LGBTI persons were killed. This weekend we will be burying 4 LGBTI people.
Melanie Nathan is the founding director of Private Courts Inc, a mediation, LGBTI equality and human rights advocacy firm based in San Francisco. She publishes oblogdeeoblogda.me and is co-producing Gay USA: the Movie. Follow her on Twitter here.
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http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/south-africa-must-change-its-tune-lgbti-citizens030712
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its sad. So sad. Because the Government is too stupid to make any difference. They have inherited freedom, inherited a working state, inherited everything, and they know NOTHING about maintenance and upkeep. Zuma and his clan have NO idea how to actually RUN anything. Thats why everything is RUNDOWN! I wish all LGBTIQ people of South Africa could emigrate. Oh how I wish they could! Because soon, we will all be refugees of SA. This country is doomed! And thats the truth, its not merely my opinion. Its FACT people! FACT!! Stop expecting Zuma or any other SA govt to do anything. The time has passed, this has become yet another screwed up African country that cant do anything pro actively! If you can, GET OUT OF HERE AND MOVE TO CIVILISATION! Its safer there. It really is!
this blogger makes activists nameless and faceless in the article. is this correct? not sure, similar the video is not created in a vacuum.
what is your point? So what? The fact is people are being brutalized due to homophobia. Do you want terrified people to reveal their names?
You will note many preceding articles are more detailed with names of victims etc. This post was put up to highlight the Video.