Lesbian and Gay Equality Project

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The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP), formerly known as the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE), is a non-profit, non-governmental organization in South Africa that focuses on the expansion of LGBT civil rights in South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It was co-founded by Zackie Achmat in 1994, and successfully lobbied for the inclusion of sexual orientation as a basis for non-discrimination laws in the country after the end of the apartheid period. [1] The organization has continued to operate after South Africa officially legalized same-sex marriage in 2005. Its work includes "law reform, lobbying, litigation, advocacy, employment equity, leadership training and development." [2]

The late South African activist Simon Nkoli was a member of the executive committee of the NCGLE upon its formation in 1994, and was a key figure in the organization's successful campaign to include sexual orientation in post-apartheid South Africa's constitutional equality clause. [3] As a result of this lobbying effort, South Africa became the first country in the world to constitutionally cement the rights of homosexuals, and the NCGLE could lay claim to successfully including gay and lesbian issues in South Africa's liberation struggle. After securing further rights gains through the legislature and in the courts throughout the 1990s, the NCGLE ceased to function as a coalition of member organizations and became a freestanding non-governmental organization, the LGEP, in 1999. The NCGLE was one of the most prominent gay and lesbian organization in South Africa for more than a decade. [3]

One of the foremost concerns of the organization is the continued homophobia that is present in post-apartheid society, and it is also in solidarity with LGBT organizations in Zimbabwe, where the Mugabe regime has placed severe restrictions on the living rights of the LGBT minority and other citizens.

The LGEP was a litigant in a number of South African court cases related to LGBT rights:

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1998.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1999.

Same-sex marriage in South Africa has been legal since the Civil Union Act, 2006 came into force on 30 November 2006. The decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie on 1 December 2005 extended the common-law definition of marriage to include same-sex spouses—as the Constitution of South Africa guarantees equal protection before the law to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation—and gave Parliament one year to rectify the inequality in the marriage statutes. On 14 November 2006, the National Assembly passed a law allowing same-sex couples to legally solemnise their union 229 to 41, which was subsequently approved by the National Council of Provinces on 28 November in a 36 to 11 vote, and the law came into effect two days later.

Egale Canada

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The origin of the LGBT student movement can be linked to other activist movements from the mid-20th century in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement and Second-wave feminist movement were working towards equal rights for other minority groups in the United States. Though the student movement began a few years before the Stonewall riots, the riots helped to spur the student movement to take more action in the US. Despite this, the overall view of these gay liberation student organizations received minimal attention from contemporary LGBT historians. This oversight stems from the idea that the organizations were founded with haste as a result of the riots. Others historians argue that this group gives too much credit to groups that disagree with some of the basic principles of activist LGBT organizations.

<i>Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie</i>

Minister of Home Affairs and Another v Fourie and Another; Lesbian and Gay Equality Project and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others, [2005] ZACC 19, is a landmark decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in which the court ruled unanimously that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The judgment, authored by Justice Albie Sachs and delivered on 1 December 2005, gave Parliament one year to pass the necessary legislation. As a result, the Civil Union Act came into force on 30 November 2006, making South Africa the fifth country in the world to recognise same-sex marriage.

LGBT rights in South Africa Rights of LGBT people in South Africa

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in South Africa enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT people. South Africa has a complex and diverse history regarding the human rights of LGBT people. The legal and social status of between 400,000–over 2 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex South Africans has been influenced by a combination of traditional South African mores, colonialism, and the lingering effects of apartheid and the human rights movement that contributed to its abolition.

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The Kansas Equality Coalition is a statewide LGBT rights organization whose mission is to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The coalition seeks to ensure the dignity, safety and legal equality of all Kansans.

LGBT rights in Cape Verde Rights of LGBT people in Cape Verde

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Cape Verde are afforded greater protections than those in many other African countries. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Cape Verde. Additionally, since 2008, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned, making Cape Verde one of the few African countries to have such protections for LGBT people. Nevertheless, Cape Verde does not recognize same-sex unions or marriages, meaning that same-sex couples may still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are still not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

LGBT rights in Eswatini

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Eswatini are limited. LGBT people face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. According to Rock of Hope, a Swati LGBT advocacy group, "there is no legislation recognising LGBTIs or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result [LGBT people] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination". Homosexuality is illegal in Eswatini, though this law is in practice unenforced.

LGBT rights in Namibia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Namibia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not banned in Namibia, and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. However, despite the lack of legal rights experienced by Namibian LGBT citizens, acceptance and tolerance of LGBT people is much higher than in most African countries.

<i>National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice</i>

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<i>National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs</i>

National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others, [1999] ZACC 17, is a 1999 decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which extended to same-sex partners the same benefits granted to spouses in the issuing of immigration permits. It was the first Constitutional Court case to deal with the recognition of same-sex partnerships, and also the first case in which a South African court adopted the remedy of "reading in" to correct an unconstitutional law. The case is of particular importance in the areas of civil procedure, immigration, and constitutional law and litigation.

Section Nine of the Constitution of South Africa guarantees equality before the law and freedom from discrimination to the people of South Africa. This equality right is the first right listed in the Bill of Rights. It prohibits both discrimination by the government and discrimination by private persons; however, it also allows for affirmative action to be taken to redress past unfair discrimination.

Section 20A of the Immorality Act, 1957, commonly known as the "men at a party" clause, was a South African law that criminalised all sexual acts between men that occurred in the presence of a third person. The section was enacted by the Immorality Amendment Act, 1969 and remained in force until it was found to be unconstitutional in 1998 by the Constitutional Court in the case of National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in South Africa.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of African ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Africa, the Americas and Europe and in the global African diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked.

References

  1. ↑ Hoad, Neville Wallace; Martin, Karen; Reid, Graeme, eds. (2005). Sex and Politics in South Africa. Cape Town: Double Storey. p. 8. ISBN   9781770130159.
  2. ↑ Power, Samantha (19 May 2003). "Letter from South Africa: The AIDS Rebel". The New Yorker: 54. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 Oswin, Natalie (Spring 2007). "Producing Homonormativity in Neoliberal South Africa: Recognition, Redistribution, and the Equality Project". Signs. 32 (3): 649–669. doi:10.1086/510337.


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