South Africa’s vote at the UN undermines its own Constitution
A media release by the Joint Working Group South Africa
Charl Marais - Newsletter editor Gender DynamiX
South Africa was one of the 79 countries at the United Nations General Assembly who voted in favour of an amendment which removes sexual orientation from an anti-execution resolution. The vast majority of countries who supported the amendment were African and also included Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Rwanda.
The amendment called for the words “sexual orientation” to be replaced by “discriminatory reasons on any basis” and is voted on by the UN General Assembly every two years. For the last ten years sexual orientation was explicitly referred to in the resolution that condemns extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings.
“The continued treatment of LGBTI(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex) people as second class citizens in our countries and on the world stage by our government representatives is shameful and a disgrace. The vote basically means my life is worthless. We will not rest until the full liberation of LGBTI people in South Africa and the world is achieved. We will not rest until there is a South African government in place that recognises the multiple identities and realities of all its citizens. Full citizenship for all,” says Phumi Mtetwa of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project.
The South African LGBTI organisation, Gay Umbrella, also expressed their concern that the South African Government “…does not practice what it preaches” when it comes to LGBT rights. “The recent vote at the UN is a warning sign that LGBT rights in South Africa are not guaranteed and we will do everything in our power to mobilise our members to stand strong to protect their rights,” they said in a statement released recently.
“South Africa voted to remove sexual orientation from this resolution, effectively disempowering activists to lobby against laws dealing with hate crimes against gender variant people. This hateful act is a stab in the back by those we trust to lead us!” said Robert Hamblin, Advocacy Manager and Deputy Director of Gender DynamiX in South Africa.
Carey Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) also described the vote as a “…dangerous and disturbing development” because it removes the important acknowledgement of the vulnerability faced by LGBT people.
South Africa’s leaders should be acting in a manner that is consistent with South Africa’s constitutional values of non-discrimination, which expressly recognise and names sexual orientation as a ground for specific protection. Members of the Joint Working Group (JWG) demand to know why our leaders and the African National Congress fail to honour their mandate.
Gender DynamiX - First Ever LGBTI Vuka Award Finalist!
South Africa has always professed human rights this and human rights that, but it saddens me that in order to qualify for human rights, and by extension, to qualify as a human, one has to qualify as a ‘gender’. Says Kyle Rath designer of the public service announcement Vuka award finalist
Putting his heart into his art, bright young designer, Kyle Rath, chose Gender DynamiX as the subject of his Mnet Vuka Awards entry and has been rewarded with a place among the finalists of the 2010 Viewers Choice Awards. This is the first time ever, that an LGBTI organisation has received this accolade!
Thrilled at reaching this stage in the high profile and high quality competition, Gender DynamiX, local non-profit advocating for Transgender rights, had this to say, “Gender DynamiX is proud to be associated with such a piece of brilliant human rights activism. We are very happy with the beautiful product Kyle has created and hope to use it often in our work. Thank you Kyle!” Kyle: “I do not expect the PSA to cure the world, but if one person is able to see this PSA and understand that they are in fact not diseased, and that there is a place for help, the PSA has worked” Hats off to Kyle Rath for recognising that transgender rights are human rights.
“The message of Kyle’s ad comes across strongly and is guaranteed to make people sit up and take notice,” said Charl Marais, editor of the Gender DynamiX newsletter, “I think this appealed to the judges, which is why we made it through to the semi-finals. We at Gender DynamiX are proud of the fact that not only did we make it to the semi-finals, but that the ad is being flighted on national television, through which we can reach even more people who are in need of support.”
The ads are currently being flighted on M-net and various other DSTV channels. After two Vuka Awards judging sessions, it is now down to the public SMS vote. Proceeds from the SMS line will go to the charity featured in the winning PSA*. Here’s hoping!
*LGBTI: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex. *PSA: Public Service Announcement Gender DynamiX: Gender DynamiX is a human rights organisation advocating on issues related toTransgender people. The orginisation provides resources, information and support to transgender people, their partners, family, employers and public. For more information contact: info@ genderdynamix.org.za Or call Robert Hamblin at: 021 633-5287
Charity is a fickle thing. When I heard we had to do a PSA (public service announcement) as a project, at the University of Pretoria, I held my head in my hands in dismay. The thing is with charity; we are always advised ‘which charities do and do not deserve our attention’, and this classification usually comes down to ‘what is South Africa ready for’. South Africa has always professed human rights this and human rights that, but it saddens me that in order to qualify for human rights, and by extension, to qualify as a human, one has to qualify as a ‘gender’.
Gender studies is a large part of what I review as a student at the University of Pretoria, and therefore, upon noticing the Gender Dynamix website, I realised that this PSA should no longer be treated as a philanthropic task, but rather as a critical reflection.
Who decides what a gender is or isn’t, or rather who isn’t? To classify people, human beings, so inflexibly according to this structure is something that we need to change. We cannot continue to marginalise, stereotype and simply shun people based on gender. With the help of technology, social anthropology can be revised and gender becomes a personal choice. Freedom of choice, I believe is what one refers to when citing the bill of rights, and I do hope that in the near future our government and our society can stick to their guns not, only when it suits them.
My lecturer, ChenetteSwanepoel, assisted me in constructing a PSA that did not attempt to melodramatically ‘change the world’. Through this ‘information design’, she and I hope to simply inform people of what transgender folks experience before and after their reassignment of life. I do not expect the PSA to cure the world, but if one person is able to see this PSA and understand that they are in fact not diseased, and that there is a place for help, the PSA has worked.
I would also like to thank Gender Dynamix, especially Robert Hamblin, for taking the time to help me with this, what started out as a ‘project’, to push it and realise its full potential. If I have learned one thing from this experience it is to trust your ability. Not your creative or technical ability, your ability to make decisions for yourself. I plead that your interpretations are, as far as possible informed by your own critical understanding and not simply shaded by ‘because my daddy said so…’
The nomination from MnetVuka is fantastic, and thefact that they are (and have) flighting the advert is, for me, very exciting. We can be assured that one of our leading influential bodies in broadcast media is behind us in this venture and I hope that through their influence on such a huge arena we will be able to inform and promote a movement of tolerance.
Finally, if I am supposed to design according to ‘when South Africa is ready’, I am afraid we will be waiting for a long time. I take it upon myself and I challenge everyone who feels an inclination to this cause and causes of a similar nature to use, promote and support design as it is intended, as an agent of change.
Humanity must make room at the table for everyone. No exceptions. As a result, the Rainbow Identity Association was initiated at the Coalition of African Lesbians General Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique in 2007. Based in Gaborone, Botswana, this non-profit organisation of transgender people challenges transphobia and transphobic laws in Botswana. Gender DynamiX is playing a huge role being a mentor to Rainbow Identity and recently Tebogo Nkoana, Outreach Officer at GDX, was guest speaker at the Transgender Day Of Remembrance Memorial held in Botswana.
Skipper Mogapi, Director of the Rainbow Identity Association said, “We aim to create open and safe spaces for transgender communities where human rights values are respected and upheld so that transgender people can find their voices. We want to educate the general public on issues of sexuality, Gender identity, and to facilitate the creation of stakeholder forums nationally to assist in the dissemination of information.”
He added that one of their objectives is to research the human rights situation of transgender people in Botswana and to network with stakeholders in the region in order to establish and maintain a response to human rights and legal challenges.
The Board of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), in the interest of the health and well-being of transgender and transsexual people world-wide, issued today, 16 June 2010, the following identity recognition statement: No person should have to undergo surgery or accept sterilization as a condition of identity recognition. If a sex marker is required on an identity document, that marker could recognize the person’s lived gender, regardless of reproductive capacity. The WPATH Board of Directors urges governments and other authoritative bodies to move to eliminate requirements for identity recognition that require surgical procedures. This statement has been posted on the WPATH website at www.wpath.org
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