Johannesburg - As President Cyril Ramaphosa gears up to deliver his eagerly awaited State of the Nation Address (Sona) on February 9, 2023, Iranti makes a plea to address issues facing the LGBTQIA+ at the Sona.
The organisation says they are deeply disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement regarding the queer community in South Africa.
Iranti reveals that last year, they made an urgent request to Ramaphosa to deal with issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community at the Sona, but he failed to do so.
Jabu Pereira, the former executive director of Iranti, says the president has not communicated what it really means to have legal protection for LGBTQI+ people in South Africa.
"In the past, President Ramaphosa has addressed issues around gender-based violence, femicide, hate crimes, and human rights violations taking place in South Africa, particularly brutal attacks on LGBTQIA+ persons. While these efforts are noted, we are calling on the president to go further and directly address the myriad of issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community. We want the president to commit state officials and state resources to ensuring an end to discrimination and of violence against LGBTQIA+ people, as envisaged by our Constitution."
"As we continue to fight for our own space, our work in this movement requires support from the highest office in the land. Now, more than ever, our community faces serious challenges around Legal Gender Recognition (LGR) and Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM)."
According to the organisation, legal protection for intersex people is required, and it wishes to meet with healthcare policymakers to discuss putting an end to the practice.
"There is no health risk to being intersex. Children should be allowed to decide for themselves what should happen to their bodies."
"When President Ramaphosa addresses all three arms of the state and the rest of South Africa on February 9, 2023, we want to be included. We want our voices heard. We want to be addressed as part of South Africa."
"South Africa’s Constitution provides freedom, dignity, safety, and equality for all, which includes the LGBTQIA+ community."
Iranti further says the intersex and transgender communities are very marginalised within society, pleading for Ramaphosa’s intervention ahead of the Sona.
The Star