South Africa: “We are God’s children”

Johannesburg, 24 April: Gays and lesbians often are criticised by people who know little about what kind of human beings they are. Two members of Inkanyiso Organisation, Collen Mfazwe and Nqobile Zungu used the South Africa Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol@Work Summit that kicked off at Kopanong Hotel in Johannesburg on 23 April 2014 to tell their story through presentations.

Mfazwe is a lesbian activist and spoke at length about the challenges faced by lesbians and gays. Through photographs from her community, she provided evidence that lesbians exist in communities and they need to be accepted as they are.

“Most homosexual people are irresponsible and that is why I’m raising my voice so that they can too in the way they relate to society. We should not fight the community to accept us. We should be progressive and add value to the communities so that they better ubderstand us and appreciate the way we are”, Mfazwe said.

The judges and audience followed the presentation with a lot of interest.

Zungu, on the other hand writes about gays and lesbians. While some parts of society criticise gays and lesbians using religious texts such as the bible, Zungu clarified in her presentation that gays and lesbians can also be born again Christians.

Further, Zungu who is a Christian said she believes that the church is also a great place to be lesbian or gay.

One of the judges posed the question whether they do not get annoyed when asked about their affairs. Zungu confidently stated that she personally gets excited and uses such conversations to educate society about lesbians and gays. She said her wish is that people ask them more questions rather than making assumptions.

This article is part of the GL News Service special coverage of the SADC Gender Protocol Summits underway across the region, offering fresh views on everyday news.