Transgender South Africans urge government to do more to protect them
South Africa on March 21 marked its Human Rights Day, notably known as Sharpeville Day in Vereeniging to commemorate those who died in 1960 during the Apartheid regime as they fought for democracy.
Although South Africa is one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to the advancement of LGBTQ and intersex rights, many transgender people feel as though the government has not done enough to protect them.
One of the most pertinent issues about which trans people often complain is the lack of urgency around hormone therapy within the public health care system and the Department of Home Affairs’ lackadaisical approach when it comes to gender identity on their national identification cards.
Zade de Kock is a trans nonbinary person who has lived in South Africa since the beginning of 2019. “I have learnt to understand that I don’t feel comfortable identifying with the gender that I was assigned at birth,” said de Kock. “This means that the gender marker on my birth certificate does not accurately define who I am.
