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How far we have come. How far we still have to go!

Constitution Hill: Sue Olswang

Sue Olswang

Many years ago, when I was young and fuelled with passion to change the world, I took part in South Africa’s first ever Gay Pride March in Johannesburg. It was also the first Pride March on our continent, and those who participated were brave warriors.

On October 13 in 1990, I joined hundreds of gay men and lesbians on a march through the city’s streets to raise awareness about the prejudice we battled against daily, and with the hope our action would be the start of a growing demand for equality. That first march was both a gay pride event and a stand against apartheid.

Three decades later, our country is a democracy and our Constitution recognises our rights. Life has improved for many in our LGBTQI “tribe”. But, prejudice still exists and is often accompanied by violent and cruel behaviour. Many have been attacked and lost their lives. Lesbians have been “correctively’ raped and beaten. Too many live in a constant state of fear.

Pride marches are now increasingly used for advocacy against LGBTQI hate crimes, and to remember those who have been victims of these crimes. The marches have not eliminated prejudice in societies across the globe, and it seems the battle will continue to be long and hard. Never forget what went down in the US on June 12 in 2016, when a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a mass shooting inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Older, and hopefully wiser, I now support pride events in my heart and mind, and will continue to do so until the battles are won.

More important to me now are the dangers I face as a woman, and as a lesbian, in a country where gender-based violence is off the charts. I am a woman before I am lesbian. Faced with the choice between a Pride March and a march against GBV, the second will win. And that makes me weep.

How far we have come. How far we still have to go.

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