LGBTQIA+ community speaks on President Ramaphosa’s Sona
Iranti, a Johannesburg-based media advocacy organization, wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to acknowledge the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) community in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) address on Thursday.
“Last year, Iranti made an urgent appeal to President Ramaphosa to address issues facing the LGBTQIA+ at the Sona but he failed to do so,” said the organization.
Iranti advocates for the rights of LGBTQIA+ persons, with a specific focus on lesbian, transgender (including gender non-conforming), and intersex persons in 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,” the advocacy group explained.
While Iranti acknowledges the efforts by Ramaphosa, the organization said more needed to be done to address the LGBTQIA+ community’s issues.
“We want the president to commit state officials and state resources to ensure an end to discrimination and violence against LGBTQIA+ people, as envisaged by our Constitution.”
Ramaphosa’s Sona address comes as the country descends into an ever-increasing snowball of crises.
These include corruption, rampant load shedding, a deepening economic crisis, and numerous social ills.
This all comes ahead of the critical 2024 general elections.
“When President Ramaphosa addresses all three arms of the State and the rest of South Africa on 9 February 2023, we want to be included. We want our voices heard. We want to be addressed as part of South Africa,” said Iranti.
-EWN
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