ZINGISWA LOSI | Cosatu congress to tackle gender and LGBTQIA+ challenges

Cosatu will hold its 15th national congress from Monday to Thursday, where delegates, ranging from domestic workers in Sandton to nurses in Mossel Bay, will gather to reflect upon the many crises facing the working class and, most importantly, to put together real solutions to resolve these.

Foremost will be the many challenges facing women and girls. We can never be truly free as a nation as long as half our people face unacceptably high levels of discrimination, barriers and, most shamefully, gender-based violence (GBV).

While we must be proud of the many strides we have made to overcome centuries of discrimination and oppression based upon gender and sexual orientation since 1994 under the leadership of successive ANC-led administrations, we cannot rest nor accept the many painful experiences a young school pupil in KwaMashu or a teacher in Soweto face simply because they are female.

Nor can we tolerate horrific instances of homophobia and brutal acts of violence against members of the LGBTQIA+ communities.

We are correctly proud of our progress as a nation and our constitution, which today guarantees equal rights to all our people, including banning discrimination based upon gender and sexual orientation.

We are proud that we were the first African nation, and among world leaders, to legalise same-sex partnerships.