The publication, Sex in Transition: Remaking of Gender and Race in South Africa, by Professor Amanda Lock Swarr takes the reader through the Apartheid times of South Africa, and how the lives of those who lived across or in between the gender binary system were impacted. It also explores how people from different races in …
A photography exhibition by Somali photographer, Abdi Osman, featured Sumaya, a trans woman from Somalia. For the longest time, Somalia had remained one of the countries in Africa with no known trans voice. This exhibition was, therefore, an incredibly important and powerful part of bringing the existence of trans persons in Somalia into the public …
Photography Exhibition Features Trans Woman, Somalia Read More »
Nikilas (Nikki) Mawanda, a trans man and activist from Uganda and founder of an NGO in the country*, was granted LGBTIQ+ asylum status in the U.S. on 20 March 2014. It was months after fleeing his home in Uganda due to the state-sanctioned violence of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which was passed by the Ugandan parliament …
Trans Activist from Uganda Granted Asylum in the U.S Read More »
Prominent anti-Apartheid and intersex activist, Sally Gross, passed away on 14 February 2014. Her last communication had been with prominent New Zealand-based intersex activist, Mani Bruce Mitchell, a friend who had posted a GoFundMe appeal for help on Gross’s behalf in January of the same year. Sally’s founding of and work as part of Intersex …
Trans Angolan musician, Titica, was made a UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador on 7 October 2013. Titica is a pioneer in a local music genre called ‘kuduro’, and even performed for the Angolan President at the time, José Eduardo dos Santos. Her appointment as UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador came at a time when many acknowledged that Angola …
Trans Musician Named as UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Angola Read More »
On 14 June 2013, Kenya’s High Court upheld Batha Nthungi’s petition filed a year earlier, in which she declared that being stripped and physically assaulted by the Kenyan Police violated her human rights (A.N.N v Attorney General). The Court agreed that the stripping of her in the glare of the media was meant to humiliate …
High Court Upholds Trans Woman’s Human Rights Violation Petition Read More »
Ugandan trans activist and leader, Victor Mukasa, with assistance from Immigration Equality, was granted asylum status in the United States on 27 June 2013 after fleeing Uganda due to fear of persecution for his gender identity. Victor is often informally considered a pivotal role player in the trans movement in Africa.
Tanzania Trans Initiative (TTI) was founded as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Tanzania in 2013. The organisation is dedicated to the trans and gender-nonconforming (GNC) community as a whole, as well as trans and GNC sex workers, and the portion of the trans and GNC community living with HIV/AIDS. The focus of their work is …
Founding of Tanzania Trans Initiative (TTI), Tanzania Read More »
In March 2013 Audrey Mbugua, a trans woman, filed a case (JR Case No. 147 of 2013) at Kenya’s High Court to compel the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to change the name on her high school diploma. She also sought the removal of the male sex marker on her certificate.
A trans man made history in December 2012 when he participated in the third South African Mr. Leather contest. He came out as trans while on stage during his speech. At the time of the contest, SA Leather’s constitution stipulated that only cisgender and gay or bisexual men were allowed to participate. Subsequently, SA Leather …
Trans Man Makes History as Participant of Mr Leather Contest, South Africa Read More »
The first Trans and Intersex Annual Pride on the continent of Africa was held in Gaborone, Botswana on 24 November 2012. The event was initiated by Rainbow Identity Association (RIA). The march hosted various trans and intersex activists from other African countries.
Lex Kirsten, the co-founder of Gender DynamiX (GDX), received the Inyathelo Philanthropy Award in the Social Justice and Human Rights category for promoting the rights of transgender people in South Africa and across the continent.
Thalepo Mkhutle, a 23-year-old person from Kuruman in the Northern Cape province, who identified as gay and transgender, was callously murdered in June 2012. Mahkutle was a volunteer at a local Gay and Lesbian organisation, the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Organisation (LEGBO) in the Northern Cape, and also participated as a drag queen, Queen Bling, …
Murder of Trans Person, Thalepo Makhutle, South Africa Read More »
Batha Nthungi, a trans woman, filed a constitutional petition (240 of 2012) against Kenya’s Attorney General for violation of her human rights on 6 June 2012. She had been arrested in 2011 and stripped by a police officer after it was discovered that she was transgender.
The events of Caster Semenya’s gender verification spiralled into an international debate about intersex* conditions and gender. The IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations, now known as World Athletics) and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) reviewed its regulations and policies, particularly the sections on routine gender verifications for all female …
Batswana trans woman, Tshepo Ricky Kgositau, applied to the Civil and National Registration office in Gaborone, Botswana to change her documentation in the national register from male to female in 2011. She argued that the State has a duty to realise the constitutional protection of rights and amend her Omang (identity document), as “her birth-assigned …
Trans Woman, Sues the State for the Right to Gender Marker Change, Botswana Read More »
November 2010 – Gender DynamiX hosted the pre-Trans Health, Research and Advocacy Conference in Hout Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. The purpose of the pre-conference was to create awareness around the baseline situation experienced by trans people throughout South Africa – both in rural spaces and cities where there is, at minimum, a basic level …
The South African Labour Court ruled in favour of reinstating Christine Elhers after she took her employer, Bohler Uddeholm, to court for unfair discrimination and for dismissing her based on her gender identity. Judge Francis not only ruled for reinstatement but ordered the company to backpay Christine the salary she had lost between her dismissal …
Labour Court Rules in Favour of Trans Woman, South Africa Read More »
In May 2010, Auntie Tiwonge and Steven Monjeza were sentenced to 14 years of hard labour after being arrested on charges of gross indecency for publicly celebrating their relationship the previous year. However, Malawian President Mutharika reversed this decision after a meeting with UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, and gave the couple a full pardon. Homosexuality …
Auntie Tiwonge and Steven Monjeza Sentenced, Then Pardoned, Malawi Read More »
SistaazHood is the first sex worker support group in South Africa, founded by trans women who were part of the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) based in Cape Town. Led by trans women sex workers, Sistaazhood focuses its support and advocacy specifically on trans women sex workers. SistaazHood was founded after an initial …
