Auntie Tiwonge and Steven Monjeza celebrated their relationship at Auntie’s place of work in December 2009. Various mainstream media in Malawi published announcements of the “first gay marriage” in Malawi. This media attention alerted the authorities and Auntie and Steven…
On 20 December 2009, The Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA) and Gender DynamiX (GDX) launched the book, Trans: Transgender Life Stories from South Africa, in Cape Town, South Africa. It was first book of its kind on the continent. The…
17 May 2009 — The Death and Humiliation of Aunty Victoria, Tanzania Auntie Victoria was reportedly the first openly identified trans woman in Tanzania. She received gender-affirming surgery in Europe many years ago (surgery dates undocumented). When she returned to…
In 2009 the first Miss Woubi beauty pageant was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire / Ivory Coast. The event takes its name from an Ivorian slang word (‘Woubi’) meaning ‘effeminate’ — the more feminine partner in a relationship, or as…
22 December 2008 — Court Rules in Favour of Trans and LGBTI Activist Victor Mukasa, Uganda After a trial of three years, the Ugandan High Court ruled in Victor Mukasa’s favour on 22 December 2008. In this landmark ruling, the…
Transgender Education & Advocacy (TEA) was established by Audrey Mbugua in 2008, working to defend the human rights of trans persons in Kenya. TEA is an international human rights organisation working towards defending and promoting the human rights of transgender/transsexual…
Trans Bantu Zambia (TBZ), was formed on 14 September 2008 to bring about an end to discrimination against the trans community in Zambia. It is a youth-led non-profit organisation whose development objective is the improvement of the socioeconomic, political and…
On 2 June 2008, Daisy Dube, a gender-variant person, and four friends who self-identified as drag queens, went out clubbing in the evening in Yeoville, Johannesburg. Men outside the club called them izitabane,* referring to their gender identity. In resistance,…
The African Regional Sexuality Resource Centre (ARSRC) invited Gender DynamiX (GDX) to be their guest on 17 April 2008 at the “Beginning of a Global Dialogue on Transgender Rights” discussion. The meeting took place in New York and was hosted…
The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) Feminist Institute in Maputo, Mozambique invited Gender DynamiX (GDX) to do a presentation on “Understanding Transgender” on 26 February 2008. This request was a result of the raised interest in trans understanding in Africa…
2008 — Matrix Support Group (MSG) / People’s Matrix Association Established, Lesotho The Matrix Support Group (MSG), also known as the People’s Matrix Association, was established in Lesotho in 2008. Although the NGO caters to the whole LGBTIQ+ community throughout…
Gender DynamiX (GDX) attended the ARC International conference in Johannesburg in December 2007. This was the first time that ARC held a conference in Africa, and it was at this conference that many self-identified trans people from other countries and…
September 2007 — Historic Claiming of Space for Trans People Within the African LGBT Movement: The Nairobi Trans Declaration, Kenya Before Victor Mukasa sought asylum in the USA, in fear for his life, he was flown to Nairobi, Kenya, by…
Gold medallist Paralympian, Tshotlego* Morama (now Paul Morama) from Botswana underwent gender verification tests in August 2007 after a win in the 800m and 400m races at the Africa Senior Championships in Mozambique. There had already been a media spectacle…
July 2007 — House of Rainbow and Gender DynamiX Reach Out to Nigerian Trans Women, Nigeria In 2007 Nigerian Reverend Jide Macaulay from House of Rainbow attended the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) meeting in Johannesburg.…
South Africa’s Gender DynamiX (GDX) was the first African organisation to become a member of WPATH in 2007. In August 2014 GDX and Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital’s Multidisciplinary Transgender Clinic collaborated in their efforts to submit a bid to…
On 31 October 2006, Alexandra Rubera was granted asylum in South Africa. Rubera, a trans woman from Burundi, faced arrest and death threats from private citizens and the police in her native country on an ongoing basis. Alexandra moved between…
On 25 February 2006, Kenyan-born Biko Beauttah arrived in Canada to seek asylum because being considered homosexual is a criminal offence in her home country. Biko left Kenya a few years prior to attend college in the USA. Having come…
July 2005 — Trans and LGBTQIA+ Activist, Victor Mukasa, Sues Government, Uganda On 20 July 2005, trans man and LGBTQIA+ activist Victor Mukasa’s house was raided by the police without a search warrant. They were looking for documents relating to…
July 2005 — Founding of First South African Trans Rights Organisation, Gender DynamiX (GDX), South Africa Gender DynamiX (GDX), the first registered South African-based organisation and one of the first African-based organisations focusing solely on the trans community, was founded…