Aug 04 2021 12:14 PMJOHANNESBURG -- The first transgender contestant in South Africa's national beauty pageant, 24-year-old Lehlogonolo Machaba, hopes she will inspire greater acceptance of the LGBTQI community.Machaba, a fashion model, is competing for the Miss South Africa title, which opened to transgender contestants in 2019."Being the first is a bit overwhelming and I'm also anxious that people do know now that I'm a trans woman," Machaba said.South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriage is legal and which enshrines LGBTQI rights in its constitution.
People can change their identity in the national birth register.However, violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex people in South Africa has.