Decolonising “African values”: The future of LGBTQ+ pride and rights
Posted: 31 October, 2024 Filed under: Lesego Sekhu, Namatirayi Ngwasha | Tags: ACHPR, African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights, African countries, African values, anti-rights groups, discrimination, homophobia, homosexuality, human rights violations, LGBTQ+, political persecution, Pride Month, sexual orientation, social exclusion, South Africa Leave a comment
Author: Lesego Sekhu
Research Assistant, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
October marks Pride Month in South Africa. Historically, Pride in this country and, more broadly, the rest of the continent has been used for political advocacy, protesting against discrimination and political persecution, and reaffirming LGBTQ+ people’s rights. In the spirit of “leaving no one behind”, this year, our Pride agenda should include radical solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in other African countries who face a growing anti-rights movement specifically targeting LGBTQ+ and other sexually diverse and gender-diverse people.
Narratives of Belonging: The Case of Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina
Posted: 30 September, 2024 Filed under: Namatirayi Ngwasha, Zekhethelo Cele | Tags: Aliens Control Act of 1973, belonging, birth country, Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina, cultural authenticity, debate on identity, Department of Home Affairs, dual heritage, dual identities, heritage, human rights, identity fraud, Immigration Act in 2002, immigration laws, immigration policies, Miss South Africa pageant, national identity, nationality, race, second-generation migrants, social exclusion, socio-economic challenges, The South African Citizenship Act of 1995, tribal affiliations, xenophobic violence 6 Comments
Author: Zekhethelo Cele
LLM Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina’s nationality has sparked a significant debate on identity, belonging, and representation between South Africa and Nigeria. Allegedly born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother, Chidimma’s story resonates with many second-generation migrants who grapple with dual identities and the challenges of being fully accepted in their birth country while maintaining a connection to their heritage.
Recently crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, Chidimma’s journey has been marked by both triumph and controversy. Her participation in the Miss South Africa pageant faced backlash, with some South Africans questioning her nationality and prompting an investigation by the Department of Home Affairs. The Department suggested that Chidimma’s parents might have obtained South African citizenship fraudulently, with her mother allegedly using an identity number assigned to a South African woman. This led to Chidimma’s withdrawal from the Miss South Africa pageant and set the stage for her subsequent victory in Nigeria.
In pursuit of Social Justice
Posted: 4 March, 2015 Filed under: Thato Motaung | Tags: banned, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, faiths, freedom of religion, intimidation, Jehovah’s Witnesses, penalties of arrets, Roman Catholicism, social exclusion, social justcie, Sunni Islam, World Day of Social Justice Leave a comment
Author: Thato Motaung
Researcher, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
World Day of Social Justice – 20 February 2015
Social justice becomes a reality when social protection measures against discrimination and marginalization are enforced, thus targeting systemic social injustice and differential treatment. This is what the United Nations General Assembly aimed at emphasizing when it proclaimed The World Day of Social Justice on 20 February 2007.[1] The advancement of social justice requires the removal of such barriers which discriminate against people based on – but not exclusive to – their age, gender, religion, culture, ethnicity or disability.
In Eritrea, religion can be a basis for differential treatment and persecution. A 1995 Presidential Decree declared that the country would recognize only four religions: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism, and Sunni Islam. The 1997 Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but because it was never implemented, the Decree trumps this right. All other faiths were banned and those who practice them would incur penalties of arrest, detention in inhumane conditions, intimidation and even social exclusion.
Makda[2], a young Eritrean girl, recounts how her father was expelled from his government job and left with no income to support his wife and seven children for being a Jehovah’s Witness.
“Our family were called “traitors” and our neighbours harassed us when we went outside. One day my parents and I were arrested during a religious gathering – I was only 14 years old. After three days, locked up in a cold prison cell with my mother, the officer released me with a warning: “Do not follow your parents’ religion or you will be expelled from school”.
AfricLaw 