Time Line of Events

History affecting and influencing the trans and intersex
movement in Africa

1992 – 2016

This time line of the history of the trans and intersex movement in Africa emerged through the grassroots experiences and memories of the contributing African activists and organisations. It is often updated with new stories and the time line is continually growing, but all the contributions fall within the date period 1992 - 2016, a time before the inception of the African trans and intersex movement as it is known today.

How to navigate the time line

Categories are displayed alphabetically at the top of the time line and can be used to filter the results to focus on the research theme chosen.

COMMUNITY – A person’s contribution, experience or accomplishment
DIASPORA – Experience or accomplishment from a trans or intersex person originally from Africa
INTERSEX – The entry only relates to the intersex movement or community
LGBTIQ – An event that also had an effect or influence on the trans and intersex movement
ORGANISATION – Contributions from African Organisations
TIME LINE STORIES – All the entries from all the categories
TRANS – The entry only relates to the trans movement or community

Gender categories have flag icons and colour groups to visually distinguish them from one another:

Commencement of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, South Africa
1 October 1992

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The Births and Deaths Registration Act, Act 51 of 1992 prohibited transsexual* people from having their sex status amended in the Births and Deaths Register unless they could provide proof that they were in their transition process prior to 1992. As such, from 1992, no new transitions were legally allowed.

Transsexuals’ sex transitions** were encouraged under Apartheid and became illegal during the political transition to democracy. This topic, and the reasons behind it, is extensively examined in the publication Sex in Transition: Remaking Gender and Race in South Africa, by Amanda Lock Swarr. In the book, Swarr writes: “Also significant was the 1992 repeal of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act, which increased difficulties for transsexuals attempting to change sex on their birth certificates. This decision may have been based in a backlash against equal rights campaigns that accompanied the political transition to democracy in South Africa…“.

* “Transsexual” is the language used in the Births and Deaths Registration Act.** The term “sex transitions” is the language used in the Act.

1 October 1992

Commencement of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, South Africa

The Births and Deaths Registration Act, Act 51 of 1992 prohibited transsexual* people from having their sex status amended in the Births and Deaths Register unless they could provide proof that they were in their transition process prior to 1992. As such, from 1992, no new transitions were legally allowed. Transsexuals’ sex transitions** were encouraged …
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Trans & Intersex, Legislation

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The Travestis, Ivory Coast
1994

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In the Ivory Coast, the Travestis* was a prominent group, recognised and documented from the early 1990s, but they were most likely active before the 90s**. They formed L’association des Travestis de Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast Transvestites Association), under the leadership of Barbara.

The first record of the group is from printed media in 1994, where journalists were quite sarcastic in their attitude towards the travestis and the group, using disrespectful, critical language and tone, which was harmful to the travestis population. A militant group of Travesti activists stormed the building where the newspaper’s offices were located, broke some windows, and assaulted some of the journalists. According to the research document Violence, Exclusion and Resilience among Ivoirian Travestis by Matthew Thomann and Robbie Corey-Boulet, this 1994 incident and similar occurrences during the same time led to the formation of the Ivory Coast Transvetites Association. For more information on the IVTA, see the timeline entry “1998 | Woubi Chéri | Ivory Coast” below.

* “Travestis” is the French word for “transvestites”.

** The exact founding date is not clear, but according to different sources, the Association has existed since the early 1990s.

1994

The Travestis, Ivory Coast

In the Ivory Coast, the Travestis* was a prominent group, recognised and documented from the early 1990s, but they were most likely active before the 90s**. They formed L’association des Travestis de Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast Transvestites Association), under the leadership of Barbara. The first record of the group is from printed media in 1994, …
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Trans, Organisation

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Woubi Chéri, Ivory Coast
1998

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The documentary, Woubi Chéri, focused on the lives of Woubis*, Yossis**, and other members of the Branché*** community in Ivory Coast. The award-winning documentary was featured globally in various film festivals and on a number of documentary platforms.

Shortly after Woubi Chéri’s release, Barbara from L’Association des Travestis de Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast Transvestites Association), who was one of the people interviewed in the film, emigrated to France. Slowly the energetic drive for the Association decreased and no more signs of their militant activism were seen. It is speculated that the reason for this is the nonprofit industrial complex, which saw funding for activism increasingly moving towards HIV/AIDS in the context of MSM (men who have sex with men), which erased all the efforts made by the Woubis.

Woubis (and cross-dressers or transvestites/travestis) cannot automatically be assumed to be transgender or to specifically claim Western terminology. Woubis existed long before any information was available on the internet and social media. Through research and the documentary Woubi Chéri, it became quite evident and very clear that the Branché community and the Woubi community have a much wider and larger range of genders and sexualities than the Western binary system. They are gender outlaws, so to speak.

* Woubis are effeminate boys who play the role of women or wife in the relationship.

** Yossis are the men or the husbands in the relationship. They can be bisexual and/or married with a family while in a relationship with a Woubi.

** Branché is a local term whose meaning is not widely understood by heterosexual and cisgender people in Ivory Coast and is used by sexual and gender minorities to describe themselves and one another.

1998

Woubi Chéri, Ivory Coast

The documentary, Woubi Chéri, focused on the lives of Woubis*, Yossis**, and other members of the Branché*** community in Ivory Coast. The award-winning documentary was featured globally in various film festivals and on a number of documentary platforms. Shortly after Woubi Chéri’s release, Barbara from L’Association des Travestis de Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast Transvestites Association), …
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Trans, Community, Organisation

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The first African Intersex Organisation formed, South Africa
2000

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Anti-Apartheid and intersex activist, Sally Gross, worked with a reporter from the Mail & Guardian to populate and provide information to the public to educate about Intersex and to create awareness around the formation of the Intersex Society of South Africa (ISOSA), a name modelled on the Intersex Society of North America, as Sally had close ties with intersex activists in that group.

The article explains: “While there are some support groups in countries like the United States and Britain, there is currently no network for intersexed people in South Africa, says Gross. She hopes that publicity about intersexuality will bring the issue out into the open, help to remove the stigma attached to it, and help intersexed South Africans to make contact with one another for mutual support”. Sally’s initial goals for ISOSA included offering advice and psychological support to its members, educational outreach in schools, and legislative advocacy.

ISOSA was initially affiliated with the health-oriented Triangle Project. Gross thought this partnership would help intersex people like herself to discover their own medical histories and to navigate treatment protocols, but ISOSA later became independent. She continued her efforts to promote ISOSA by sharing her own story in the publications, Natal Witness and Challenge, as well as being interviewed on the popular Cape Town station, Radio Bush.

To reflect the group’s independence from the U.S. organisation, Sally changed the name from ISOSA to Intersex South Africa (ISSA) in 2008. Since Sally’s death in 2014, ISSA has been housed by Iranti, founded in 2012.

2000

The first African Intersex Organisation formed, South Africa

Anti-Apartheid and intersex activist, Sally Gross, worked with a reporter from the Mail & Guardian to populate and provide information to the public to educate about Intersex and to create awareness around the formation of the Intersex Society of South Africa (ISOSA), a name modelled on the Intersex Society of North America, as Sally had …
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Intersex, Organisation

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Zimbabwe Unwittingly Represented by a Trans Woman at the Cricket World Cup, South Africa
9 February 2003

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South Africa hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and on 9 February 2003, during the Parade of Nations and as part of the opening ceremony, the event’s organisers appointed models to walk in the parade, holding banners to represent each participating country. Senegalese-born model, Barbara Diop, had done modelling work in South Africa (she moved to Cape Town) and on international runways in Italy prior to this event, and she was appointed to carry the Zimbabwean banner. A few days later rumours started circulating that Barbara was a transwoman. She initially denied the rumours but eventually admitted that the claims were correct.

Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, responded with anger and said that choosing Barbara as Zimbabwe’s banner bearer was done deliberately to embarrass Zimbabwe. This sentiment by President Mugabe was just one of the many homophobic statements he made about LGBTIQ+ persons throughout his public life, including publicly expressing the following in July 2002: “When I said gays are worse than dogs and pigs, I really meant it because pigs and dogs do not do unnatural things.” He threatened to withdraw the Zimbabwean team from the Cricket World Cup but did not have to follow through with his threat as Zimbabwe was eliminated from the competition early.

9 February 2003

Zimbabwe Unwittingly Represented by a Trans Woman at the Cricket World Cup, South Africa

South Africa hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and on 9 February 2003, during the Parade of Nations and as part of the opening ceremony, the event’s organisers appointed models to walk in the parade, holding banners to represent each participating country. Senegalese-born model, Barbara Diop, had done modelling work in South Africa (she moved …
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Community, Trans

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Parliamentary Hearings on the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa
9 September 2003

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9 September 2003 – A group of organisations and interested individuals, including Sally Gross, Simone Heradien, Estian Smit, members of the Cape Town Transsexual/Transgender Support Group, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Commission on Gender Equality, made oral presentations during the parliamentary hearings to advocate for amendments to the Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act 49 of 2003.

As gazetted at this point, The Sex Description and Sex Status Act made no provision for trans people without genital surgery or for intersexed and other persons who did not wish to have any medical/surgical procedures, but who may want to change the gender identity/sex description assigned to them at birth.

The Cape Town Transsexual/Transgender Support Group only heard about the hearings at short notice, about 10 days before the hearings. Due to this short amount of time, they requested an extension of two months, to better prepare. The request was denied. The Group then went ahead and prepared and delivered their oral presentation on 9 September 2003.

A quick overview of Act 49 of 2003:

“The Act applies to:

      Persons having gender reassignment.

      Intersexed persons.

Requirements:

      For gender reassignment, reports by two medical practitioners.

      For intersexed persons, reports by a medical practitioner and a psychologist/social worker.

Who may apply?

Any person whose sexual characteristics have been altered by:

i) surgical treatment

ii) or medical treatment

iii) or by evolvement through natural development resulting from gender reassignment, or any person who is intersexed may apply to the Director-General of the National Department of Home Affairs for the alteration of the sex description on his or her birth register.”

Note: “Evolvement through natural development” is not defined in the Act, so it could be interpreted as changes in biological development, or as changes in psychological/social development.

Critical comment: The Act assumes and therefore demands that applicants must undergo some kind of change before they qualify for an alteration of sex description.
9 September 2003

Parliamentary Hearings on the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa

9 September 2003 – A group of organisations and interested individuals, including Sally Gross, Simone Heradien, Estian Smit, members of the Cape Town Transsexual/Transgender Support Group, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Commission on Gender Equality, made oral presentations during the parliamentary hearings to advocate for amendments to the Sex Description and Sex …
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Trans & Intersex, Community, Legislation

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3 December 2003

Transgender Education & Advocacy (TEA) established, Kenya

Transgender Education & Advocacy (TEA) was established in Kenya by Audrey Mbugua, working to defend the human rights of trans persons in Kenya. It was the first trans organisation to be established in Kenya.

Trans, Organisation
Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa
15 March 2004

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Following on from the parliamentary hearings on 9 September 2003, the Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act 49 of 2003 was altered, signed by the President of South Africa and circulated in the Government Gazette, on 15 March 2004.

The Act was amended in 2004 to address the concerns that arose after the Act was enacted in 2003. The Act originally allowed individuals to apply to have the sex designation on their birth certificate changed if they had undergone gender reassignment surgery. However, concerns were raised that this requirement was overly restrictive, as not all individuals who identify as a different gender undergo such surgery.

The 2004 amendment expanded the criteria for changing the sex designation on a birth certificate to include individuals who had undergone other medical treatments or procedures related to gender reassignment, as well as those who had received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a medical professional. The amendment was aimed at ensuring that the law reflected the experiences of trans individuals and provided them with greater access to legal recognition of their gender identity.

Estian Smith, one of the individuals who made the oral presentation to Parliament in 2003, created a presentation to Gender DynamiX to explain a summary of the process of altering the Act including points about its history, parliamentarian lobbying, an explanation of the Act, oral presentations, parliament decisions, inadequacies, obstacles, impact, and a way forward.

15 March 2004

Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa

Following on from the parliamentary hearings on 9 September 2003, the Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act 49 of 2003 was altered, signed by the President of South Africa and circulated in the Government Gazette, on 15 March 2004. The Act was amended in 2004 to address the concerns that arose after the Act was enacted in …
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Trans & Intersex, Community, Legislation, Organisation

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Intersex Rights Included in Legislation for the First Time Worldwide, South Africa
2005

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The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Act 4 of 2000 (PEPUDA), which is sometimes referred to as The Equality Act, was passed by the South African government in 2000 to protect its citizens from discrimination, hate speech, and harassment. Following the work of LGBTIQ+ activists, PEPUDA was amended in 2005 and became the first legislation in the world to include “intersex” within the legal definition of “sex” as “a congenital sexual differentiation which is atypical, to whatever degree.” This definition of intersex reflects the work of activists as it is almost identical to the recommendation submitted to the court by Intersex South Africa (ISSA). ISSA’s founder, Sally Gross, advocated for and worked passionately towards this inclusion. One of the major accomplishments by activists in the amendment to PEPUDA was to insist that “intersex” be self-defined, removing it from medical definitions and interventions or the forced surgeries that often accompany legal definitions of “sex.”

2005

Intersex Rights Included in Legislation for the First Time Worldwide, South Africa

The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Act 4 of 2000 (PEPUDA), which is sometimes referred to as The Equality Act, was passed by the South African government in 2000 to protect its citizens from discrimination, hate speech, and harassment. Following the work of LGBTIQ+ activists, PEPUDA was amended in 2005 and …
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Intersex, Community, Legislation, Organisation

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Liesl Theron Hosts First Gender Diversity Awareness Workshop, South Africa
May 2005

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Liesl Theron, then a member of the Good Hope Metropolitan Community Church (GHMCC) coordinated a full-day workshop for its members under the title, “Gender Diversity Awareness”. This came about due to Liesl’s personal involvement with trans and gender-diverse people.

Liesl and her partner at the time, Lex Kirsten, were introduced to each other by a mutual friend from GHMCC. When it became known to Lex that Liesl had previously been in a relationship with a trans man (1997–2000), Lex wanted to find more information about transitioning and related topics. This and Liesl’s previous relationship became known by members of GHMCC, so Liesl, a member of GHMCC’s council, offered to put together a workshop so that church members and other interested people could learn and understand more about the then “nearly unheard of” topics of transgender and intersex people, and gender diversity.

Liesl invited guest speakers who included, among others, Estian Smit, Sally Gross and Dr Marlene Wasserman, also known as Dr Eve. The workshop held at the church was a landmark event, as not only was it attended by more than double the number of people Liesl expected, but it was hosted for three more years on the anniversary of the first workshop. Looking back, the first Gender Diversity Awareness workshop and the interest demonstrated by the attendance was one of the factors that encouraged Liesl to continue her trans[gender] awareness-raising work, which led to the founding of Gender DynamiX (GDX) later in the same year. Before the founding, and during the first two years of the existence of Gender DynamiX, GHMCC supported Liesl and Lex tremendously in their efforts to raise awareness about gender diversity.

May 2005

Liesl Theron Hosts First Gender Diversity Awareness Workshop, South Africa

Liesl Theron, then a member of the Good Hope Metropolitan Community Church (GHMCC) coordinated a full-day workshop for its members under the title, “Gender Diversity Awareness”. This came about due to Liesl’s personal involvement with trans and gender-diverse people. Liesl and her partner at the time, Lex Kirsten, were introduced to each other by a …
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Community, Trans

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1 October 19921994199820009 February 20039 September 20033 December 200315 March 20042005May 2005

Time Line of Events

How to navigate the time line

Commencement of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, South Africa

The Travestis, Ivory Coast

Woubi Chéri, Ivory Coast

The first African Intersex Organisation formed, South Africa

Zimbabwe Unwittingly Represented by a Trans Woman at the Cricket World Cup, South Africa

Parliamentary Hearings on the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa

Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, South Africa

Intersex Rights Included in Legislation for the First Time Worldwide, South Africa

Liesl Theron Hosts First Gender Diversity Awareness Workshop, South Africa