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23 June 2020 – In the 8 years that Iranti has been in operation working for and with the LGBTQIA+ community, our core mission has been to support people and organisations who form part of the LGBTQIA+ community in Africa. This year we have decided to step up our efforts in the community by allocating R300 000 in covid relief efforts to support the LGBTQIA+ community in our region.

Over the past 8 years we have taken a particular focus on trans, lesbian and intersex persons and have used our platform to advocate for equity for our community. This has been done through media, research, advocacy and strategic partnerships with governments, UN and African human rights mechanisms.   

Iranti understands that the LGBTQIA+ are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations due to their positionality in society and therefore face multiple levels of exclusions. Because many in our community form part of the working class and the informal trade in our country, discrimination and a lack of policy inclusion and protection of already existing rights, many are economically excluded. This has been intensified by the COVID-19 outbreak; it is therefore imperative that we have allocated money for relief efforts. 

Deputy board chair, Robert Hamblin, said, “It has been incumbent on the organisation to extend the work to relief efforts. That Iranti has done so in the time where Covid-19 has exacerbated the hardship and alienation of many already marginalised queer children and adults alike, speaks to how the organisation’s work has consistently remained committed, not only to advocating for queer rights but also to supporting the people within the work.”

So far, we have supported 80 LGBTQIA+ persons from various community based organisations, with food vouchers and rental relief. They mainly come from the North West, Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. A beneficiary of the relief by Iranti said that they had not been able to work due to the lockdown and the help they received aided in alleviating the financial pressures from this unexpected pandemic. “With our pockets constrained the voucher has helped us in purchasing essential items, during this difficult time,” they said.

Iranti has further extended support to partner organisations in Southern and East Africa in need of financial resources that could go towards data costs and office relief costs. In this small gesture of mutual aid and cooperation from Iranti we hope to communicate that we can collectively work towards alleviating the pressure that this time presents to the most vulnerable within our communities.

Executive Director of Iranti, Jabu Pereira, said he was proud to be in the role that he is at Iranti, saying “These past eight years have taken Iranti on all the joys, aches and challenges that come with growth. Over these years, Iranti has worked with the most incredible people at staff, board, donor and partnership levels. We continue to be impactful and particularly in this time when we are called upon to lead in ways that extend to humanitarian, mutual aid and care. My wish for Iranti is that we always remain centering our communities who need us the most, that we always remain generous and firm on the changes we desire. I am so grateful to our donors who are woven in to understand the power of resources in creating social change.”

As we celebrate this eight year milestone of Iranti, Gugu Mandla who started at Iranti as a photography intern in 2012 and now works as a media documentations officer reflects that the work done by Iranti has been important in amplifying voices of the community and advocating for change within Africa. “Our documentation on the decriminalisation case in Botswana in 2014. Our work with Nare Mphela a trans woman who suffered discrimination against her school principal and later won her case in the Equality court and so many more stories reminds us of the power of story and its link to change.”

In celebration of our this milestone Iranti reiterates its commitment to fight for the rights of LGBTQIA+ persons and for as long as we can use the power of story to change the world where everyone lives with dignity, respect and equality; and where sexual, gender and bodily diversity are not only accepted, but celebrated.

For media enquiries contact Jade Jacobs, jade@iranti.org.za