© Collen Mfazwe
06/09/2014

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From Vaal LGBT group on Facebook

Saturday marked a day we took our flags and painted the streets of Boipatong. We raised our voices in solidarity with different organizations.

Today we are torn, heart-broken, to inform you of the passing of Busisiwe Ngobese. She was involved in a car accident driving from the stadium to the after-party. Its alleged that she had 3 passengers with her, 2 of them are admitted at Sebokeng Hospital, unfortunately the 3rd one (to be identified today) passed away as well.

By Lerato Malibe-Ntlatlane

As we know that August is women’s month. We celebrate who we are as women; we celebrate the battles we have won. We celebrate the strength that God has given us, despite the pains. We celebrate women who fought against the apartheid system in this country, we celebrate our mothers, our sisters and our daughters.

This month as the LGBTI community, we celebrate women who stand fearlessly against injustice. We are celebrating women who are standing tall against homophobia. We are celebrating women who are saying enough is enough and will not hide who they are because of ignorant people.

This month I celebrate mothers who have accepted their gay children, who support and love them endlessly. This month I celebrate lesbian mothers, who against all judgement do not hide their children and raise them with love. This month I celebrate women.

This month I remember women who died in the hands of men who think they are God. I remember victims of hate crime, whose blood have been shared in the name of intolerance and hate. I celebrate all survivors of hate crime; many have been raped in the name of making them straight. Women who are standing tall and say despite all, we will not live a lie. I remember mothers who have buried their beloved children, children who were brutally murdered because of being gay.

I remember women who are hated, who are judged and mocked because they look like men. I celebrate women who have answered to natures call for their lives. I celebrate all our single parents, those who came out strong from being abused by people who once loved them. I celebrate women.

I celebrate women who have made it through the rough times, who broke through the pains, who put the pierces of their hearts together, who despite physical pain wiped their tears and marched on.

I remember those who coach us, who hold us by the hand when it gets tough, those who constantly remind us that the journey of life is not an easy road.

The world calls us by names, some say we are possessed, some same we are crazy, some say we are desperate – but no, we are true to how we have been created.

I may be mocked for marrying a woman, talked about for having a kid- yet I stand tall and many like me… I celebrate.

Author’s bio

Lerato Malibe-Ntlatlane is a freelancing columnist, a Performance Management Specialist and a Law student who aims to focus on human rights. She is the founder of Divine Image Ministry, a ministry that focuses of the spiritual growth specific all for gay people.
Previous by Lerato

 
2014 March 5: Lesbian Femmes and Bags

Text by Lerato Dumse
Photos by Zanele Muholi 

A suspect is due to appear in the Tsakane Magistrate Court today (October 14), in connection with the fatal stabbing of Phumzile Nkosi (27) on October 2, 2014.

Pastor Dlamini led the funeral service…

Members of Daveyton Uthingo, were there to grieve with the family and friends, standing in front Funo, Pride, Pearl, Sicka and Lesiba.

Musa Williams from EPOC LGBTI spoke deeply at the funeral…

Activists came to support the grieving family…

Miriam Nkosi, the victim’s mother arriving at Vlakfontein cemetery…

Phumzile, a lesbian mother of two boys aged 8 and 9years old, was laid to rest at Vlakfontein cemetery, after a service at home on October 12.

For Miriam Nkosi (54) the funeral of her youngest child meant she had buried four children, three of them killed in violent crimes.

Miriam says she was fetched from her house around 7pm and told that Phumzile had been stabbed in Extension 19, Tsakane, not far from her section in the same township.

When /Inkanyiso visited the family, before documenting the funeral, Miriam only had second hand information, on what happened to her daughter that fateful lateThursday afternoon.

She explained that Phumzile had left home earlier that day and said she was going to visit a friend.

Miriam says she arrived in Ext 19 to find her daughter lying on the street, facing up and dead, while people surrounded her from a distance.

She says it was when she turned her over that she saw the stab wound, while hearing a policeman demand the cloth, used to clean Phumzile’s blood in the house she was allegedly stabbed from, before being moved her to the street.

She added that she wants justice for Phumzile’s death.

Rest in peace… Phumzile Nkosi…
We will always remember you!!!

Book Review by Glenda Tambu Muzenda

Faces and Phases (2006 – 2014) showcases resistance and courage from all corners of the country. From South Africa trailing into Canada, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the threat of erasing sexualities of black lesbians, and even more so evanescent to extinction, has been so clear with lack of favourable climate to produce this knowledge.

Zanele Muholi took visual activism to another level by producing such an exposition to the world, and building an archive rendering homosexuality not just as a shadow but a reality to showcase.

A world never ready for that which they want to keep a secret, Muholi brought attention globally to an issue that stood to wage resistance that of being and relevant to its society. In 2010, former Minister of Arts and Culture Lulu Xingwana denounced the exhibition’s phase as immoral and walked out. Unpalatable to some, yet a victorious moment for those of us who only sought to be representative of a democratic society and raise the sexual and body politics to a world still bearing the arms of conformity.

Busi Sigasa at Women’s Gaol, Braamfontein Johannesburg (2006)

What Muholi brought from 2006 with the birth of Faces and Phases was a processing and an understanding of the body not only as a vessel, but the imbrication of bodies and histories. The body has been marked as a place of politics and Muholi took advantage of this fact to expose the resistance within each photograph.

History is therefore no longer imagined but shows a substantive account of generations in organized resistance to the conforming agenda of society. This deployment of divergence speaks to a political space that not only in South Africa, but world over black lesbians resist conforming, to be relevant and significant in their own skin.

My encounter with Zanele Muholi’s work almost eight years ago has certainly made it clear that we remain to be seen. Identity and gender expression are key issues that Muholi has focused on within her work and over the years there has been a significant transformation of her work showing the diverse lives of lesbians’ world over even within the sample of the exhibits.

As gender and sexual minorities, we remain in combat for another freedom, but can celebrate this freedom of life knowing that we have always been here and that we are no longer just imagined, we are a reality. The photography is powerful and messages speak of just being human, not to be forgotten or erased in this time but be remembered in all aspects of their lives as activists, artists, professionals, mothers, lovers, sisters and women who love women.

Glenda’s bio

Glenda Muzenda is a sociology scholar interested in issues of sexuality and gender in the contemporary context emerging in policy and programming for sexual well-being in particularly the silencing of pleasure discourse in South Africa (Africa). Her writing and research interests focus mainly on sexuality and its significance, pleasure and agency of young girls as well as how to positively engage boys and men in the developmental discourses of gender equality.
Glenda envisions research to produce new knowledge without neglecting contributions that are positive of beliefs, practices and norms in local cultures is necessary to find synergies in the context of sexualities. Her research seeks to engage with gender and social dynamics, politics of gender and sexual politics that sexualities within the complexities of a context it is applicable.

Previous by Glenda

2013 March 22: Gloom, glamour and graves

and

2013 March 8: Ndilele

Where:  Mike’s Kitchen in Alberton
With who:  Inkanyiso crew & Friends
Camera used:  Canon 600D

Sisters with style… lead by Zandile Makhubu in front with blue top…

Our lovely couple, Javas & Mashadi Ndlovu to get married in April 2015.

With Nqobile Zungu in pink shirt and Rele in peach top…

© Photos by Lebo Mashifane (2014)

Text by Lerato Dumse
Photos by Lindeka Qampi

The beauty of African culture, dance, colours and clothing was in full display when Javas and Mashadi Ndlovu hosted their traditional wedding on April 25.

The newly weds shared their special day with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours at Mashadi’s home in Dobsonville, Soweto.

Javas, a participant featuring in Faces and Phases 2006-14 opted to represent her mother’s culture in the first session, by wearing a IsiXhosa attire, before changing to IsiZulu traditional wear for the second traditional session. While Mashadi looked gorgeous in a Setswana dress, coupled with white converse takkies.

The pair cemented their legal bond through a civil union on April 21, at Rustenburg Home affairs. They were accompanied by the Mabuza family, their landlords who on the day became their witnesses.

Javas and her family announced their arrival at Shadi’s house ready to go to the photo session by singing traditional wedding songs. When the bride didn’t come out, the Ndlovu family continued singing from outside the yard. When she emerged her beauty greeted everyone. The singing continued, with each family singing their own song while the lovebirds proceeded to move step-by-step towards each other from opposite directions. The families started singing the same song when the couple was a few feet from each other, “Umakoti ungowethu” (the bride is ours) was the song of choice when the couple finally reached each other and continued in the same direction.

The convoy then made its way to Little Falls, a nature park in Roodepoort on the West Rand. Although at some point it was threatening to rain, when the wedding cars arrived at Little Falls the sun was blazing hot. While the five photographers who documented this event tried to find the best angle, the couple searched for the most romantic poses and embraces they wanted captured.

Arriving back home, there were more guests who had arrived, and people moved to the stretch tent, which was beautifully decorated to complement the African theme, including the wedding cake. It was time for speeches by family and friends while starters were also served.

The couple, together with the bridesmaids and Lesmates (as termed by Shadi), dashed off to change their attire. They returned wearing Zulu regalia made using different bright colours. The couple had a matching outfit, and made it a family affair by having their son, Mbulelo Lethabo Moqwaisa wear something similar.

Napo Modise didn’t disappoint as the MC of the event, adding humour and also acknowledging the family support received by Javas & Mashadi . Napo also poked at those whose only reason for coming to the wedding was to see lesbians get married.

The couple revealed that they met three years ago, after a chance introduction when Mashadi’s colleague who is a telemarketer gave Javas a call to sell her an insurance product. The personal information that was collected from Javas helped the colleague to figure out that Javas is lesbian, and led to the colleague to play matchmaker.

Shadi explained that they knew after six months of dating that they wanted to tie the knot, but it was in the 8^th month of the relationship that Javas asked for her hand in marriage. The bride shared how after discussions they realised that; “a western wedding would not be viable for us because we are proudly African.”
She says their aim was to bring Ubuntu to people’s atmosphere. Adding to that, Javas spoke about the perception that society sometimes has on homosexuality and labelling it Un-African. “I wanted to do things right, so I even paid lobola, to avoid taking short cuts in this wedding.”

The newly weds spent a week of their honeymoon in Durban.

Related link

2015 April 25: Photos from Javas & Mashadi’s traditional wedding

and

2015 April 13: Javas approaches new Phase – Marriage

Mamello ‘Meme’ posing in front of her photo exhibited at Wits Art Museum (WAM) on the 1st Feb. 2014

My name is Mamello Motaung, I started my career in photography at the Market Photo Workshop (MPW), on the 4th of March 2015. Zanele Muholi introduced me to MPW.  The first week of my schooling was hectic. I didn’t know the place, how to take photographs, how photography works, and how to handle a camera.

I was very shy to talk in class, but my trainers were very polite and always assisted me with everything that I didn’t understand. It was a course that lasted for 8 weeks. I fell in love with photography during my second assignment, when we did HOME. We had to capture places where we get a sense of home, and that one person that makes you feel at home. It was really interesting because they gave us cameras to take them home for our assignment.

It was a great feeling, until I did my first crit, then it was not nice at all. My seniors told me that crits are important. My trainers told me that crit. sessions happen every week so that they can “judge your work (photographs).” Weeks passed and I got used to the school and the course. I had problems with the focus on my camera, most of my images were out of focus. It was my digital trainer who helped me a lot, until I got it right. Patience is the key, but it really hurt me a lot, it was not nice to have images that are out of focus.

The last week of my Foundation Course (FC) was hectic. I even thought about quitting immediately, and then I thought about where I came from and where I want to go. The biggest challenge I faced was mounting my boards, which happened a day before my final crit, I couldn’t even mount.

Most of the students who did their Foundation Course before me always told me that FC is hectic and I must learn to manage my time because photography is not child’s play. So I had to be serious about my career and spend most of my time doing my work. I didn’t have time to chill with my friends or go out as I used to. I had to change my life for those 8 weeks and start being a photographer.

My whole lifestyle changed, change is good as they say. I really love the change that I made with my life, because I never thought I would do photography in my life. Its all thanks to Zanele Muholi for giving me this opportunity to study photography at the Market Photo Workshop, now I am so in love with it and I would love to further my studies in photography so that I can get skills and better knowledge about photography. I would also love to study cinematography after completing my qualifications in photography at the Market Photo Workshop.

Previous link

2014 June 25:  I consider myself beautiful not handsome

and

Related links

2014 Dec. 7:  My eight weeks at Market Photo Workshop doing FC