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4 February 2020 – Iranti attended the funeral of Nare Mphela, a fierce activist who fought for her right to education by taking her school and the principal to the Equality Court and subsequently winning that case in 2017. The funeral took place in her home village in GaMahlala where she was also laid to rest in January. There have been no arrests made.
We sat in awe as we heard the pastor ask the congregation what each of the letters in the LGBTQIA+ alphabet stood for. For the first time in Iranti’s history of attending queer funerals, the people from the community intentionally allowed the MC and the pastor to explicitly and continuously mention the LGBTQIA+ community that comrade Nare Mphela was a part of to visibilise her, even in death.
Nare Mphela’s body was found in her home in early January 2020. Her body had already started to decompose by the time her family and friends discovered her. Nare was a transgender womxn who proudly claimed her space in the small town of Makopane, just over 40 kilometers from Polokwane. She was a devoted Christian and a fierce advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. Her family described her as outspoken, proud, stylish in stilettos and headstrong. The people who attended her funeral were draped in religious regalia, traditional attire and stilettos alike, it was clear that the people of her community were there to celebrate the life of the womxn who lived fearlessly and fully.
The queer narrative in South Africa, legally speaking, is one of tolerance, love and acceptance – however, when one scrutinises what happens on the ground it is not the case. The broader LGBTQI+ community face violence on all levels of society, from family, from friends, from their own lovers, from teachers, from pastors, from strangers in the street and from health care providers. Hate crimes like the death of Nare happens all too frequently to people who live on the vast spectrum of the various Sexual Orientations and Gender Identity and Expressions.
Iranti empathises with the Mphela family and the activist community in Limpopo and beyond. This tragedy is yet another wake-up call to police officials, government, and policy-makers on the risks faced by the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa for living their truth. Nare’s legacy will live on through the safer spaces in schools that were created because of her persistent and intentional activism. We call the on police and justice system of South Africa to find the murderer of Nare and all other womxn who have been killed.
Rest in Power, Nare Mphela – 1992 – 2020
For media inquiries contact: Rumana Akoob: rumana@iranti.org.za / +27 11 339 1468