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The first night I stepped in Joburg I had my first homophobic encounter. I was gripped with fear, anger, and sadness when three rowdy random guys screamed profanities and homophobic slurs in Zulu at us as we passed through the dark street. I thought of the xenophobic attacks rocking South Africa and I knew I dared not answer back, especially in English because that would just mean double trouble for me.

It was not only their vile words but the hatred and violence in their voices that scared me the most. As we continued walking in silence, I couldn’t help but question why and what had prompted these hooligans to attack us. It being my first time in this area, I wondered why and how they came to the conclusion that we were gay.

Suddenly I was reminded of why I feel like an alien in my motherland. I am from Harare, Zimbabwe, but I am visiting from Sweden, where I now live. I have never encountered this level of homo-transphobic hate in Sweden. I was pained by the thought that I cannot move freely without being subjected to some form of harassment by people who are supposed to be my brothers and sisters. The amount of misdirected violence targeting people like myself, whose only offense is being different in a rigid society that considers my gender expression a misnomer, is appalling.

Having heard and read about the violent hate crimes perpetrated against LGBTI people in South Africa, this incident reminded me how expressing yourself freely in a society that fights against your very existence is a struggle. I thought of the many LGBTI people from this area who have to go through this hate everyday.

Reflecting on this encounter I realised that although I identify as a transgender person, most of the times I am subjected to anti-gay bigotry, because societies have boundaries on sex and gender and legislate against expressions considered to run afoul of the expectations. When I got home, still pondering on the worst that could have happened to us in that dark, empty street of Jozi, it became apparent that as a transgender person in a body considered female, I am expected to dress, behave and act in a certain way by society. The fact that I do not conform to these gender stereotypes makes people like myself an easy target for hate and violence, thus my struggles are closely linked to those of LGBI people.

I thought of an article I read a few months ago questioning why the transgender community needs to remain as part of the LGB community. At some point I might have been tempted to concur, but this encounter made me think twice. I have shared and contributed a greater part of my life in the LGBI movement. My oppression and struggles resemble theirs. LGBTI people need each other in this fight, because we are bound by the same chains although shackled from different ends.

[Photo credit to Miles Rutendo Tanhira]

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