Giving a voice to the LGBTIQA and community
Ntsupe said she had always known her choices differed.
“It is not yet uhuru (not the end) for the LGBTIQA+ community, our struggle continues.” These are the words of LGBTIQA+ activist Ntsupe Mohapi.
The 48-year-old from Ekurhuleni came out as a lesbian when she was 21 years old. Growing up in a conservative Christian family as a granddaughter of pastors, she endured prejudice due to her sexual preference.
“It was hard at the church I was attending at the time. There was a lot of gossip regarding my coming out. My mother and relatives did not take my coming out well,” Ntsupe said. Ntsupe said she had always known her choices differed.
“I knew I was different from my female friends, but I felt it was impossible for me at the time to live as a lesbian due to the stigma that was associated with it.” As a lesbian who is also a mother, she always tends to startle those who have opposite views on LGBTIQA+ individuals, especially those with children.
“When I was 20 years old, I dated a man and fell pregnant. Immediately after giving birth, I told myself I would not go through the hell of living a lie because I was very unhappy. I then started associating with the gay and lesbian community and that is how I met my first girlfriend.”
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Ntsupe is now married and family-orientated. She believes children who come from same-sex marriages or relationships should be empowered to face the world and other family dynamics.
“I have been with my beautiful spouse, Bontle Khalo Mohapi, for 16 years, and we have been married for four years. As a same-sex couple, we face discrimination and safety-related issues. We always need to watch our backs and choose safe places and people to socialise with. “Some community members tend to despise same-sex marriages. There is always an issue of culture and interrogations of who needs to pay lobola.”
Ntsupe is also the director of the Ekurhuleni Pride Organising Committee (EPOC), which advocates for the rights and safety of the LGBTIQA+ community.
“EPOC has created safe spaces in rural communities where the community can meet to share their experiences and challenges. We bring information on sexual and mental health closer to rural communities. We have also held community dialogues and awareness campaigns where we engage with community leaders, faith-based organisations and traditional leaders.”
Ntsupe believes that for the LGBTIQA+ community to have enough freedom in townships, communities should accept that homosexual people are human beings and are part of the communities they come from.
“As activists, when we think we are winning, we always hear of a hate crime that shocks us. Therefore, we cannot let our guard down. There is not enough freedom in townships for the LGBTIQA+ community. “Many LGBTIQA+ individuals have been taken to sangomas, initiation schools and ‘garages’ by family members and pastors to force them to convert,” she said.
This mother believes people judge because of a lack of knowledge and fear of the unknown. She is of the belief that education, community dialogues and a positive message from community and spiritual leaders will help halt the discrimination, murders, ‘corrective’ rape and bullying endured by the LGBTIQA+ community.
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