'Epidemic' of homophobia spreads through South Africa
theGRIO REPORT - The South African government appears to have been jolted into action by the latest killing, and has set up a special unit to tackle hate crimes against gays...
Noxolo Nogwaza’s battered body was found dumped by the side of the road over Easter weekend. Her face was disfigured and soaked in blood. She had been pummeled with stones, beaten with bottles, and then stabbed with shards of glass.
What could have motivated the grotesque attack which killed Nogwaza — a 24 year old from Kwa Thema, a poor township, east of Johannesburg? Some of her friends believe that she was attacked and murdered simply because of her sexuality. She was a lesbian, and a prominent gay rights activist who had just dropped her girlfriend home when she was killed.
There are claims that before her murder she was subjected to a so-called “corrective rape” — an attack by a gang of deluded but brutal men who believe that the assault will “cure” a lesbian of her sexuality.
Many pointed to similarities between her murder, and another killing in the same township three years ago. The partially clothed body of Eudy Simelane — one of South Africa’s best-known female soccer players — was found in a park near to the spot where Nogwaza’s body was dumped. She too had been raped and stabbed to death. Human rights campaigners have warned that the torture and murder of both women form part of “an epidemic” of homophobic attacks in South Africa.
“Nogwaza’s death is the latest in a long series of sadistic crimes against lesbians, gay men, and transgender people in South Africa. The vicious nature of the assault is a potent reminder that these attacks are premeditated, planned, and often committed with impunity” said Dipika Nath of Human Rights Watch.
“If the police and other state officials do not act swiftly, it will only be a matter of time before they have to account for their failure to the family and friends of the next lesbian who is beaten and killed in Kwa-Thema”
Others say that the murder forms part of a pan-continental epidemic, and highlight the case of David Kato — the Ugandan gay rights campaigner who was beaten to death shortly after being ‘outed’ by a newspaper. Underneath the headline “Hang them”, the newspaper published photographs of Mr. Kato, and several other people, last year. The police claim that he was not killed because of his sexuality, but campaigners believe the authorities are trying to deflect foreign criticism.
Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries. In some, vitriolic hate campaigns have flourished. It is, of course, too easy to over-simplify the reasons for the hatred endured by Mr. Kato and others. However, some blame the legacy of colonialism, poor education and simple ignorance. Others say that in some societies, homophobia might have roots in the traditions of male-dominated tribal cultures.
“The truth is that homophobia is deeply engrained in the majority of African’s heart and minds. It’s nothing new… These views have been inherited over generations” said Eusebius Mckaiser, a Johannesburg-based social commentator.
“However, there is nothing uniquely African about this. This sort of misogyny is present in gentrified societies too… But in South Africa this has a lot to do with our conceptions of what it is to be African, and ideas of masculinity that haven’t been challenged – even in the face of one of world’s most liberal constitutions.”
Gay rights are enshrined in South Africa’s internationally-celebrated constitution, which was scripted in order to banish the inequality and discrimination of decades of white minority rule. It is one of few constitutions which explicitly outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
”…But a constitution cannot change people’s behavior.” says Mckaiser.
“This shows the limits of law and underscores, yet again, the gap between a constitution and everyday behavior. Unfortunately, this constitution has not brought about change as quickly as we thought.”
But the South African government appears to have been jolted into action by the latest killing, and has set up a special unit to tackle hate crimes against gay people.
Noxolo Nogwaza wouldn’t have been so well embraced by her constitution, had she had lived in almost any other African countries. But even here, she appears to have been violently rejected by a small part of her own society. Many South Africans are closely watching the police investigation, and believe that justice would not only honor the memory of the young victim, but the founding ideals of their democracy.
