Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis called for communities to educate themselves about issues affecting the LGBTQI+ community.
The mayor was speaking at the celebration of International Pride Month in the Langa township on Saturday.
Hill-Lewis said there needs to be more diversity and inclusion in communities.
“I have so much respect and admiration for the LGBTQI+ community, particularly in townships. It’s really tough to be gay in a township in South Africa, and in rural areas in particular, we know of this terrible amount of violence that people still suffer, things like corrective rape and other hate crimes.”
The event organiser, Anele Gqasana, said he was happy that people came out in their numbers and heeded the message.
“The turnout is 100%. It’s our first event. Obviously, we were expecting fewer than this, but more people came out, also the stakeholders from around within the space of the LGBTQI+ community.”
Some Langa community members said events like these were important to educate the community about the rights of others and tolerance.
Meanwhile, some members of the LGBTQI+ community in Langa added to growing calls for more educational initiatives to raise awareness about hate crimes against them.
The LGBTQI+ community said they hope for an end to their discrimination.
South Africa was the first country to constitutionally protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and the fifth in the world to legalise same-sex marriages.
Those in attendance at the Pride Month celebration said they won’t stop sending the message that they have equal rights in the country.
“We are sending the message. It depends on the person we send the message to if they are going to accept it,” said one person.
“It’s something that we have been waiting for, for years. We have been wanting to have Pride but of course, because of politics and fighting within the structure, but now we all put our hands together,” another said.
“We are saying we are all one, we are not different from other people, we are all one. That’s the message we are sending out,” said another.
-EWN
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